Talent Ready Utah, the state program tasked with enhancing education to better provide industry with trained employees, has released its Utah Computer Science Master Plan, a four-year plan designed to meet Gov. Gary Herbert’s goal to ensure every public K-12 student in Utah has the opportunity to learn computer science by 2022. During the recent legislative session, HB227 assigned the development of a state master plan to achieve Herbert’s goal to Talent Ready Utah’s board. The development and approval of the statewide master plan is a significant step in Utah’s commitment to ensuring equitable computer science learning opportunities and outcomes, the organization said in a release.
“I appreciate the leadership of the Talent Ready Utah board and the State Board of Education in creating a comprehensive and actionable strategy to offer computer science courses to all K-12 students in Utah,” said Herbert. “Computer science impacts every industry. Computing jobs are the No.1 source of new wages in the U.S. and are projected to grow at twice the rate of other jobs. Computer science is a new literacy, and we must ensure that all students across our state have the opportunity to learn and develop the skills needed to create their futures.”
The Utah Computer Science Master Plan was developed through a grant from the Pluralsight One Fund and the support, input and engagement of subject matter experts and stakeholders across industry sectors, including members of the Talent Ready Computer Science Committee. Utah will be the 12th state in the nation to develop and implement a statewide computer science plan.
“Computer science is now a foundational literacy that is critical to preparing Utah students to succeed in our technology-driven world,” said Aaron Skonnard, CEO of Pluralsight and co-founder of Silicon Slopes and member of the executive board of Talent Ready Utah. “Every school in Utah must teach computer science, and every student must have equality of opportunity to learn computer science regardless of whether they pursue a career in technology. With the approval of our state master plan, we now have a roadmap to achieve that outcome, and we are one step closer to delivering on Gov. Herbert’s goal of ensuring every K-12 student in Utah has the opportunity to learn computer science by 2022.”
“The Utah Computer Science Plan identifies key needs, strategies and target outcomes across six essential categories that uplift the education system and its successful and equitable integration of computer science,” said Sydnee Dickson, state superintendent of public instruction. “The Board of Education is committed to increasing enriching, high-quality computer science learning opportunities for students across grade levels. Likewise, we are committed to building long-term and sustainable capacity within our local education agencies while prioritizing professional development opportunities for our educators.”