Code Brooklyn

Computer science education is important. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in this field will grow by 22 percent from 2012–2022. Not only is it critical to ensure that our students are prepared to compete for those jobs, it is paramount to train their minds with the quantitative and creative skills needed in our rapidly-evolving society. A student that enters our school system today will likely work in a career requiring knowledge of technologies that we know almost nothing about today. Think of the Internet of 20 years ago; the average American who was fortunate enough to have a modem connection spent about 30 minutes online every week. Compare that to your day so far. Computer science education is important.

Since we don’t know with any certainty what specific aptitudes today’s students will need tomorrow, we need to ensure they have the critical thinking and problem-solving abilities that extend beyond any one technology or program. Computer science teaches and nurtures the type of thinking that 21st century citizens will need to address 21st century issues. We cannot know with any certainty what those challenges will be, but we can arm our students with the tools needed to address them.

With this idea in mind, we have launched Code Brooklyn, a mission to give every public school student in the borough the opportunity to learn how to code, and to make policy changes that ensure computer science is part of the required curriculum for graduation. My office invested over $13 million in STEM-related capital initiatives this fiscal year which will provide the infrastructure necessary to teach computer science and coding, and we will commit to do even more in the coming years.

As one of our first steps, we are looking to have every Brooklyn school hold an Hour of Code event at their school during Computer Science Education Week, held this year from December 7th to the 13th. This is just the beginning of what we hope will be a long-term relationship between our office, our schools, and the tech industry. Partnership is a necessity if we are to reach our goals. During this week, we will be able to evaluate where each school stands in terms of technology infrastructure, student preparedness, and faculty readiness. It will help us gather the information we need to ensure that all Brooklyn schools are ready when CS4ALL, the initiative between CSNYC and City Hall to bring computer science to all City schools in ten years, begins providing resources for professional and curriculum development.

It is an ambitious undertaking and we cannot do it without your help. There are approximately five hundred schools in Brooklyn; while we can get a lot done in a week, we simply cannot be in that many places at the same time! If you believe, as we do, that our future is being written in zeroes and ones, the language of code, please sign up to volunteer at codebrooklyn.org. We are working with NPower to match volunteers with schools based on location, interest, and school needs.

A few hours of volunteer work this fall can make a lifetime of difference in educational opportunities for tens of thousands of Brooklyn’s young learners.