Gov. Ige and DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto at the signing of Act 51 to increase computer science education and teacher training in the schools.
To advance a cause he described as “near and dear to his heart,” Governor Ige signed a bill to increase computer science education and teacher training in the schools, HB 2607 (Act 51). “I want to thank the legislature and our private sector partners for helping us ensure our students can succeed in a 21st century economy,” said the governor.
At the bill signing, DOE Superintendent Christina Kishimoto said the department wants to support the programs already at many of the schools. “We want to design an innovative curriculum that embeds a computer science experience at the elementary, middle and high school levels,” she said.
“We’re not focused on just adding a class, which would be the easy way to respond to this. Rather we want to ask what types of experiences will push our students to be innovators and leaders in the field.”
Kishimoto said the Board of Education has adopted computer science standards so that by 2022 all children, K-12, in Hawai‘i public schools will have a meaningful computer science experience. “We’re offering K-8 computer science innovation grants to encourage teachers to try new ideas,” she said. “And next summer a teacher-led conference will share different approaches for students to continue the momentum.”
Read more in the December Capitol Connection newsletter.
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