Chris Berry is the president and CEO of OhioX, a statewide nonprofit technology association. Molly Kocour Boyle is the president of AT&T Ohio.
In August 2022, we wrote in The Columbus Dispatch that “Ohio cannot be ‘Silicon Heartland’ if students are left behind,” and we called on leaders to ensure every student in every school had the opportunity to learn computer science.
Our message was part of a national campaign, led by the nonprofit Code.org, which rallied over 500 business, education and nonprofit leaders to push for updating K-12 curricula across the U.S. to include computer science. Since then, the stakes have only grown higher.
Just months after our initial call, a technological watershed moment occurred: OpenAI launched ChatGPT on November 30, 2022. Within two months, it reached 100 million users — a record for any new technology. Generative AI became accessible to everyone, ushering in a new era of innovation. The world changed on that November day, and so did the urgency for technology education.
We are proud to announce the launch of Ohio for Computer Science, a coalition of over 100 CEOs and tech leaders from across the state. Together, we are renewing our call for K-12 computer science education, recognizing that in the age of AI, this is not a luxury, but a necessity. We invite other business and tech leaders to join us in this critical effort.
Our initiative comes as Code.org releases its 2024 State of Computer Science Report, and the data is troubling for Ohio:
- Ohio had the largest raw number of high schools stop offering computer science of any state in the country: 147 schools. Only because 124 schools started offering computer science did the overall percentage of schools offering drop just 1% from last year.
- Ohio’s 61% of high schools teaching computer science is still significantly behind neighboring states, including Indiana (91%), West Virginia (78%) and Pennsylvania (75%).
- Only 3.6% of Ohio students take computer science in any given year, according to 2020 data.
These numbers are alarming, especially when considering the demands of today’s economy. Computer science offers an essential foundation for success in every industry. The problem-solving and computational thinking skills it teaches help students tackle complex challenges across all fields. As AI continues to reshape the workforce, these skills are more relevant than ever.
Studies show that students who learn computer science outperform their peers in school, college and beyond. The benefits are so clear that parents, students, teachers and employers overwhelmingly support expanded access to computer science education. With AI now a central part of our economy, computer science education is even more critical as it provides the foundation for AI literacy — an essential skill for tomorrow’s workforce.
To provide Ohio students with the education they need to thrive in an evolving job market, computer science must become a priority. The number of computing jobs is projected to grow at more than 10 times the rate of overall employment in the next decade. For students from all backgrounds, computer science offers a path to economic opportunity and upward mobility.
With new data showing Ohio is moving in the wrong direction, we can’t afford to rest on past achievements. Ohio’s administration and legislature have been strong supporters of computer science education, but more must be done.
As budget conversations begin ahead of the 2025 legislative session, we urge state leaders and policymakers to reinvest in K-12 computer science education and ensure that every student in Ohio has the opportunity to learn these essential skills.
Computer science education is a rare bipartisan issue that brings together leaders from government, business and education. Now is the time to act. For the sake of our students and our economy, let’s unlock the opportunities computer science offers for every Ohio student.
Chris Berry is the president and CEO of OhioX, a statewide nonprofit technology association. Molly Kocour Boyle is the president of AT&T Ohio.
This post was originally published on here
