As the global Hour of Code week, sponsored by Code.org, kicks-off today in classrooms, offices, homes, community centers, and coffee shops around the world, I’m reminded how essential it is that we continue to expand access to computer science education. Increasing the participation of women and other underrepresented groups in computer science will help drive innovation far into the future.

Our work with Code.org is focused on addressing the long-term challenge of making computer science education ubiquitous in classrooms, regardless of neighborhood, community, or country. This issue has the attention and investment of Amazon and many other companies, which makes us optimistic about the future.

As part of Hour of Code week, more than 300 volunteers and teams such as Amazon Future Engineer, AWS Educate, and Alexa will welcome more than 6,000 students to Amazon offices across the US and abroad. Niamani Knight is one of those students. She’s a fiercely driven high school junior, with a contagious smile and a passion for technology that she hopes will catch on. Niamani’s goal is to make learning to code and working with technology not only cool, but easy for anyone to understand.

Check out Niamani’s story to see how she is pursuing her goal with a little help from Amazon.

Written by Jeff Wilke, former CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer

What is CS Ed Week?

Computer science education creates career opportunities and has been shown to make a positive impact on students’ academic achievement, yet many students continue to lack adequate exposure to the field. 

This year, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Santa Cruz COE) is pleased to announce an expanded series of computer science related events, activities and resources as part of Computer Science Education Week (CSEdweek). CSEdWeek, from December 5-11, is an annual call to action to inspire K-12 students to learn computer science, advocate for equity, and celebrate the contributions of students, teachers, and partners to the field.

“We know that coding in the classroom has a profound impact, improving analytical and problem solving skills, helping to bridge the digital divide, and opening doors in the tech industry and beyond," said Jason Borgen, Chief Technology and Innovations Officer at the Santa Cruz COE. “This year's focus on CSEdWeek is part of our goal of supporting early and equitable access to computer science education for every Santa Cruz County student.” 

The week kicks off with an Equity Town Hall from 6-7:30 p.m. December 5. Exploring both pathways and persistent barriers to the field, this virtual event features a student speaker and a panel of industry representatives. Later in the week, the Santa Cruz COE is hosting a hands-on CS Playground event from 4-6 p.m. at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. A lineup of educator trainings as well as an activity and resource hub will be available leading up to and throughout the week. 

More than one in four high school districts in California did not offer a computer science course as of 2018-19, according to data compiled by California for Computer Science. Santa Cruz County is ahead of the curve, with one or more computer science courses at each of its four high school districts. But local education leaders are continuing to work to remove barriers and increase access, enrollment and equity, including underrepresentation of girls.  

“Tomorrow’s innovators are in our classrooms today,” said Borgen. “Let’s help our students imagine and build their future!”

Learn more about how the Santa Cruz County Office of Education is supporting the efforts: https://cs.santacruzcoe.org/programs-and-events/2022-csedweek