FOUR-YEAR-OLD PROGRAMMERS? San Francisco Unified School District has announced an initiative to bring computer science curriculum to all of its schools, from preK through 12th grade. The program is largely funded by external organizations, like Salesforce’s $6 million donation in September 2014, and will start by rolling out computer science curriculum in 12 K-8 and middle schools in fall 2015.
While some US school districts, like Chicago, have taken steps towards universal computer science for all by requiring students to take a CS course to graduate high school, San Francisco is the first large urban district to take such a leap, according to the Hechinger Report. SFUSD has a long way to go: In the 2014-2015 school year, only 5% high school students were enrolled in a computer science class, the vast majority of whom were white and male.
