AnonymousSource: Santa Barbara High School Computer Science Academy Foundation
The Mosher Foundation has awarded $50,000 to the Santa Barbara High School Computer Science Academy, says Richard Johnston, CSA director. The funds are intended to help replace aging Mac computers, expand the Academy’s internship program, develop additional classwork for advanced students, and continue the Academy’s outreach to girls and other underserved students.
In making the award, Sue Birch, Mosher Foundation’s education program specialist wrote, “The work you are doing is so important in this current world, giving all students an even chance to compete in today’s market. We are especially concerned that the advanced level computer education will continue and prepare those students for college level courses as they move on. Keep up the good work motivating young women to become computer savvy!”
Mosher Foundation President Ed Birch also wrote, “Our investment in the Computer Science Academy is one we are proud to be involved with and are most impressed with the over 500 students who have participated in the CSA to date.”
The Academy plans a ceremonial ribbon-cutting when its new Mac computers are installed later this year.
SBHS’s Computer Science Academy was founded in 2013 in response to the glaring gap between the workforce need for computer science competence and the absence of CS coursework in the community. It is grounded in the philosophy that all students should be exposed to computer science because CS skills are necessary in the modern workforce. It is an “open academy,” which means that any interested student may enroll in one or more CS classes, whether or not they commit to the full program, which offers coursework paths in Art and Design, Web Design, Java Developer, and Elementary Developer. These can lead to an Intermediate Developer Certificate or a Master of Code Certificate.
Since its founding, the CS Academy has provided core competence in computer science to more than 500 SBHS students. For more information about the SBHS Computer Science Academy, visit the Academy website at https://sbhscs.org/.
