Hutchinson launches computer science tour in Genoa

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson shakes the hands of students at Genoa Elementary School on Tuesday in Genoa, Ark. Hutchinson stopped by the school as part of his fall 2018 computer science tour.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson shakes the hands of students at Genoa Elementary School on Tuesday in Genoa, Ark. Hutchinson stopped by the school as part of his fall 2018 computer science tour.

GENOA, Ark.-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson launched his fall 2018 computer science tour of the state's schools Tuesday in Genoa, speaking at the elementary and taking a tour of the high school's computer lab.

He said he was impressed with what the students were working on and that it was important they continue coding classes.

"Whenever you look at the students here, the students in class were making musical designs, they were playing the guitar, so they understand practical applications from apps to music to video games," Hutchinson said. "I'm trying to bring it a little bit further and say that there's a role in computer programming really in every aspect of our life, from agriculture to robotics. This is about broadening their view of the world and seeing the role computer program-
ming plays in every aspect of our life."

1n 2015, Hutchinson signed legislation requiring all public high schools to offer courses in computer science. During the fall tour, he will tour more than 60 schools across the state.

While making a presentation at Genoa Elementary, Hutchinson told the students computer science jobs will be in high demand in the near future and that coding classes would prepare them for jobs that don't even yet exist. He added that whatever field students want to go into, whether it be farming, working in a factory or becoming a doctor, knowing the basics of computer science and programming are important.

"The reason that's important is that we have about one million unfilled jobs in America that's needed in the computer science field over the next five or 10 years," he said. "I'm encouraging our young people to take advantage of this opportunity and learn computer science while you are in school."

Hutchinson said the state spends $2.5 million each year on computer science training and that since the initiative began in 2015, the state has gone from 1,000 students taking computer science classes to 6,000.

During a question-and-answer session, he said he became aware of the importance of coding and computer jobs after 9/11 while working as the first undersecretary for border and transportation security at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

"I saw it from a security standpoint and the private sector as to all the opportunities in the technologies and in computer programming from a business standpoint," he said. "I also see the future as governor, and cybersecurity is as an important part of what we have to do in the future as anything."

Hutchinson will continue the tour at Pea Ridge Middle School and Drew Central High School on Sept. 10 and 11.

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