U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann will work with Microsoft and other high-profile companies to push national computer science literacy in the schools, and he’s eyeing a pilot effort in Chattanooga.
“My hope is that they will adopt a local school, hopefully in a disadvantaged area, to pick that as their pilot school,” Fleischmann said. “That would be my request. Whatever they do is fine. I just want it to work.”
The Chattanooga Republican plans to join with Microsoft and the Computer Science Education Coalition, a group of businesses and nongovernment organizations that want to expand access to the discipline in K-12 classrooms nationally.
The coalition is urging Congress to provide $250 million for K-12 computer science education this fiscal year to help fill critical U.S. jobs and ensure America remains globally competitive. The federal funds will complement work already undertaken in the states, the coalition said.
In addition to Microsoft, other companies in the broad-based group are Amazon, Apple, Battelle, Google and Verizon.