Hartford Business Journal

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"I would put people together on a council, or taskforce." The inclusion of educators in any such conversation would be key, said Ray- mond Rossomando, director of policy, research and government relations for the Connecticut Education Association (CEA), a public teachers labor union. The issue is pretty new to CEA, Ros- somando said, and the group hasn't yet been approached by policymakers about possible plans to mandate a computer-science curriculum. If and when that does happen, Rossomando said, its success will depend on how the policy is implemented. For example, adding computer science credit requirements for new educators could exacerbate a teacher shortage. At the same time, existing teachers could find themselves without necessary certifi- cations, if profes- sional develop- ment demands are introduced without giving them enough time to complete training. Equity between districts will also be a concern, Ros- somando said. "Currently, there is still a digital divide among our school districts, and obviously the ones that are further behind are the districts that have greater poverty and lower ability to raise revenue," Rossomando said. "Some districts could … be close to the goal line and get past it very quickly, while others could be all the way at the other end with 90 yards to go." It's not clear how many school districts in the state currently offer computer-science courses. One that does is Farmington Public Schools, one of the state's wealthier school districts. Farmington High School already has classes on developing apps and Java programming, said Rebecca Shomo, who leads the school's science depart- ment. The school also has a course called Digital Electronics, an engineer- ing career pathway class formed by Project Lead the Way, a K-12 engineer- ing education nonprofit. This year 145 Farmington High students are taking advanced computer courses, with 40 enrolled in an app inven- tor class, 31 in AP computer science with Java and 74 in honor's-level computer science, Shomo said. "It's really im- mersing students in software en- gineering design process," Shomo said. State support Lamont has not said publicly if he will follow the policy recommen- dations set out by his transition team. His spokes- woman said the governor believes in the importance of providing Connecticut students with access to high-quality computer-sci- ence education, and that the adminis- tration is considering the proposals. His first budget is due Feb. 20 and he'll have to figure out ways to tackle multibillion-dollar deficits in each of the next few years. Mandating a statewide com- puter-science cur- riculum without offering additional state aid would engender backlash from cities and towns, particularly when school dis- tricts across the state are facing their own budget constraints. That could mean the issue doesn't move for- ward this year. Grants are use- ful, said VanHoose of Code.org, but a sustainable pro- gram would re- quire some state commitment. The costs of such a program aren't yet clear, said Witkos, the state senator, but it's a commitment he said Connecticut must make if the state is to train students for high-paying jobs, and build up a skilled workforce. Most in-demand IT positions in CT A data analysis from the state Department of Labor's Office of Research shows that a wide range of occupa- tions in virtually every industry require some tech and/ or computer skills. As a result, the DOL projects there will be a need for nearly 15,000 new entrants into computer occupations in the state over the next 10 years. Here are the jobs that will be in highest demand: Projected IT job available jobs Applications software developers 4,271 Computer user support specialist 2,440 Computer systems analysts 2,003 Systems software developers 1,566 Computer programmers 803 Source: CT Dept. of Labor Office of Research Sheela VanHoose, Director of State Government Affairs, Code.org Kevin Witkos, GOP Senate Minority Leader Pro Tempore

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