REDMOND, Wash., May 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Microsoft
Philanthropies on Monday announced the expansion of TEALS
(Technology Education and Literacy in Schools), which pairs
technology professionals with teachers to "co-teach" computer
science. The TEALS program will add nearly 100 schools in
the United States, and will
recruit 1,100 volunteers, for the coming school year. Volunteers
come from companies ranging from small startups to large brands
such as Amazon, Google and Microsoft Corp., among others.
Volunteers are invited to apply through the TEALS website.
"As industries evolve, we should prepare young people with the
skills they need," said Mary Snapp,
corporate vice president and head of Microsoft Philanthropies.
"Half a million jobs that require computing skills are unfilled in
the United States, with openings
in every industry and in every state. Yet most high schools do not
teach computer science. Volunteers from Microsoft and more than 300
other companies are working to fill that gap, in partnership with
teachers, through TEALS."
Some of the top manufacturing regions in the country will
benefit from the TEALS expansion. Among the new states for the
program are Wisconsin,
Ohio and North Carolina. A majority of the five high
schools added in Michigan are in
the Detroit metropolitan area. The
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) estimates the gap
between the technology skills employers need, and the skills many
workers possess, is keeping 350,000 manufacturing jobs
unfilled.
TEALS volunteers co-teach Introduction to Computer Science and
AP Computer Science, depending on a school's preference, and some
schools offer both. The TEALS curriculum was developed in
conjunction with the UC Berkeley and the University of Washington
computer science departments. A key part of the program is helping
to prepare classroom teachers to teach the subject in the future.
Over two years, the classroom teachers gradually take over teaching
the course on their own.
This expansion is the result of new partnerships with schools,
businesses, government leaders and nonprofits. In Ohio, spurred in part by a 2014 Cleveland
Foundation study that showed the need for 10,000 local information
technology (IT) workers, the Cuyahoga County Executive and the
Cleveland Foundation forged a partnership with Microsoft to bring
TEALS to the state. The Cleveland Foundation provided a
$185,000 grant, and the Cleveland Metropolitan School District,
Cleveland State University and the
Envision Excellence in STEM Education also played key roles in
bringing the program to Ohio.
Together, they will expand access to rigorous computer science
courses across Cuyahoga County,
and especially in the Cleveland
Metropolitan School District.
"One of Cuyahoga County's key
priorities is to ensure the workforce's competitive advantage by
offering programs that include the entire spectrum of our
residents' lives from early childhood through post-secondary
education and into the workplace," said Armond Budish, Cuyahoga County executive. "The TEALS program
is a critical component to our workforce development initiative. We
are focused on establishing career pathways for youth and young
adults and support county schoolchildren enrolled in the TEALS
programs, feeding students directly into our local businesses."
Gener8tor, a startup accelerator, and the Milwaukee Institute, a
nonprofit, joined with Thrivent Financial, an investment firm,
Schneider National, a transportation company, and others to
bring the program to Wisconsin.
TEALS will be offered in high schools in Appleton, Green
Bay and Milwaukee, in
addition to other cities.
"We are thrilled that Microsoft is investing in our region by
establishing the TEALS program in support of computer science
education in several Wisconsin
high schools," said Paul Mueller,
chief information officer, Thrivent Financial. "Given the current
and growing shortage of IT talent needed to drive our economy,
TEALS is a welcome approach. It will accelerate the development of
the talent we need, while investing in the futures of our
students."
The private sector plays an especially critical role in TEALS,
which depends on volunteers from local companies to partner with
classroom teachers to bring computer science into high schools.
Anyone with a computer programming background and a desire to
contribute to their community is encouraged to apply. TEALS
arranges with schools for classes to be taught during first period,
allowing volunteers to teach before the workday begins. Those
interested in volunteering can learn more at
https://www.tealsk12.org/volunteers/.
Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) is the leading platform and
productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and
its mission is to empower every person and every organization on
the planet to achieve more.
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SOURCE Microsoft Corp.