Wayne County Public Schools is among 18 North Carolina school districts that have been awarded a total of $800,000 in grants to help develop student skills in computer science through coding.

WCPS was among five districts that received a grant worth $80,000.

The Coding and Mobile App Development Grant program, launched in 2017 with funding from the North Carolina General Assembly, supports partnerships with local businesses to help schools develop computer science, coding and mobile app development programs for middle and high school students.

The grants, which range in size from $13,000 to $80,000 this year, are used by districts and schools to obtain equipment, purchase digital materials and cover the costs associated with teacher professional development to build capacity in coding, computer science and mobile application development initiatives.

Applicants for this year’s round of grants indicated a primary goal of establishing strategies to implement and integrate North Carolina’s new K-12 Computer Science Standards by prioritizing professional development for teachers and introducing students to computer science in novel ways.

In addition to the adoption of the new standards in 2023, ninth graders entering high school in the 2024–2025 school year and beyond are required to complete a computer science course before graduation.

This year’s grant awardees are partnering with a variety of business and industry connections across the state on their initiatives, including VEX Robotics, TechSmart, STEM West, The Dot Consulting, Carolina Ballers, NASCAR and Code.org, among others.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt said the grants help expose students to careers in the fast-growing technology sector while laying an early foundation in the skills needed to succeed in those jobs.

“We’re thrilled we were able to fund all 18 applications for the Coding and Mobile App Development Grant this year,” she said. “The workforce here in North Carolina is changing rapidly, and we must respond with initiatives like this to ensure that students know about these high-wage, in-demand roles and are equipped to take advantage of them. The growth of technology-related jobs across the state and nation, especially those involving artificial intelligence, underscores the need to drive alignment between our K-12 education system and the needs of our businesses and industries.”

Some districts and schools are using funds to continue and expand programs started through previous years’ grant awards. Other districts and schools have begun implementing programs this spring.

During the 2023-24 school year, the grant program afforded the opportunity for more than 10,000 students and their teachers, administrators and other staff members throughout the state to experience a coding or mobile app development course as well as exposure to computer science, IT and technology-related work.

These experiences included embedded activities, work-based learning opportunities, professional development experiences and other options. The 18 participating schools or school grant recipients added or expanded new coding-related courses or supporting activities for middle or high school students.

The North Carolina schools named as grant recipients are: