Over the last year, ESD 112’s STEM Initiatives has been working closely with a number of districts in its region to increase access to Computer Science Education, especially in smaller, rural districts. To recognize the reach of this work, Washington STEM, who funded the outreach along with a grant from OSPI and multiple industry partners, has released the video above. The video features Ridgefield, Washougal and Wishram schools. Vickei Hrdina, ESD 112 STEM Director is also interviewed in the video about the importance of high quality computer science programs in today’s technology-rich world.

“Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to serve over 118,000 students across Washington,” Washington STEM wrote in an email to Hrdina and the other grant recipients. “To put those numbers into perspective, that’s an 89 percent increase in student growth in the past year!”

Please watch and share widely. If you have any questions about our Computer Science initiative, or other STEM programs, please contact Vickei Hrdina.