Bronxville Heeds White House Call To Increase Computer Science In Schools

BRONXVILLE, N.Y. - The Bronxville School District recently received praise of the highest honor, when it was commended in a White House press release praising its efforts to implement technology and computer science education in the classroom.

Bronxville students were given a shout out by the White House for their use of computer sciences throughout the district.

Photo Credit: Daily Voice Southern Westchester

Bronxville Elementary School students engaged in a variety of coding exercises during the Hour of Code, which exposed them to the science of computer programming.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Zak Failla

12/15/2016 4:00 p.m.

The announcement coincided with the beginning of Bronxville’s Computer Science Education Week, and the international Hour of Code event that serves as an introduction to computer programming for students around the world.

Bronxville Technology Director Jennifer Forsberg said that the annual computer science events offer students a unique opportunity to learn another language they may not otherwise be exposed to.

“Computer science is an important language for students to experience,” she said. “In many cases, students are just the consumers of technology, but we’d like to prepare them to become creators and provide them with opportunities to learn about the different aspects of it.”

According to district officials, they were influenced by President Barack Obama’s call to action to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn modern technology. Obama has encouraged schools and districts to implement new computer science programs and course offerings.

The district has traditionally offered computer science courses for older students, but this year, they brought in a coding consultant that has worked exclusively with kindergarten through second grade students to teach them how to code. Brad Ashley, the district’s K-12 Instructional Technology specialist has been busy teaching the rest of the elementary school students tips and tricks to tech.

Forsberg noted that Bronxville is the rare school district that provides this consistent level of computer science education for students of all ages and abilities.

“Having our youngest students learn coding and computer science this year is very exciting. We now have 100 percent participation in the elementary school,” she added. “Coding and computer science can start at any age, and we’re thrilled to support our youngest learners to be innovators, collaborators and creative thinkers.

“We anticipate much more growth and opportunities for our students. We are also upgrading the middle school curriculum to include more coding, robotics and physical computing.”

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