GENOA, Ark.-Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced a new state computer science program Tuesday during his visit to Genoa Central Schools, which was the kickoff of his Fall 2018 Computer Science Tour.
He said the Arkansas Department of Education is launching the Computer Science Innovation Grant Program, which will reimburse computer science programs for the cost of curriculum, software licenses, professional development and student incentives.
Schools will compete for grants of $25,000, $20,000 or $7,500.
The program gives after-school coding clubs, robotics teams and other extracurricular computer science programs at Arkansas public K-12 schools the opportunity to compete for up to $250,000 in total reimbursements for the purchase of curriculum, software licenses, professional development, student incentives and more.
In 2015, the governor signed legislation requiring all public high schools to offer courses in computer science.
"Since then, Arkansas has become a national leader in computer science education, and we aren't done yet," he said.
He also announced that Arkansas will provide a membership in the Computer Science Teacher Association to each of the state's 528 fully certified computer science teachers.
The memberships will give many benefits including discounted online courses, support for computer science teaching certifications, free teaching aids such as robots and circuits and other resources.
Hutchinson said Arkansas is the first state in the nation to provide the CSTA+ membership to its computer science educators since CSTA announced the option in July of this year.
"CSTA is the best place for computer science teachers to continue their professional development, and we're thrilled that Gov. Hutchinson is providing Arkansas' (computer science) teachers with CSTA+ membership," Jake Baskin, CSTA executive director, stated in a press release. "Arkansas is one of our strongest chapters and we're proud to help strengthen the local (computer science) educator community."
The governor also announced that the state would waive teacher license renewal for certified computer science educators.
"Today's announcements are the result of our continued commitment to keep creating opportunities that will equip our students for a 21st century workforce," Hutchinson said. "These announcements are three more reasons why the state of Arkansas continues to lead the nation in computer science education."
Anthony Owen, ADE director of computer science education, said Arkansas is the first state to provide this kind of support to fully certified computer science teachers.
"The Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science is excited to continue supporting students, schools and educators as the state enters year four of the Governor's Computer Science Initiative," he said in a press release. "Today's announcements again demonstrate the state's commitment to support dedicated teachers and innovative programs across Arkansas."