{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/weekly-columns?ContentRecord_id=87A0235B-DE7D-4809-9586-3BC2B7AB5450", "Foundation for the Future- Computer Science", "2016-12-07", "2016", "2016-12", "Republican", "House", "AR", "John Boozman", "B001236", "www.boozman.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Preparing students for 21st\u00a0century careers starts with providing them with the tools and resources to learn skills needed in the modern workforce. In this interconnected digital age, computer science plays an important role.\u00a0\r\nComputer science is experiencing record growth. Students rank computer science among their favorite classes and advanced placement (AP) computer science is the fastest growing course in schools.\r\nStatewide efforts to empower students in this field are creating excitement and a path toward future success. Last year, the Arkansas legislature passed a law requiring all public high schools to offer at least one computer science class. This initiative provides Arkansas students an advantage in the modern labor market. The idea is to foster a technologically savvy workforce to help recruit businesses to our state and grow the economy. That begins with coding, the language of computers.\u00a0\r\nArkansas is a national leader in computer coding thanks to Governor Asa Hutchinson\u2019s leadership. During the past two school years he\u2019s touted computer coding during a statewide tour to encourage students to learn coding, a skill vital to almost every industry. These efforts helped increase enrollment in computer science by 260 percent in one year.\u00a0\r\nI recently attended a computer science class to get a hands-on lesson in coding and hear from students about their experiences in the classroom and how it helps prepare them for life in the workforce.\u00a0\r\nSeeing the enthusiasm of young Arkansans as they create computer programs and learn a skill that will benefit them in their future was rewarding and a predictor of future success.\r\nThere are fewer computer science graduates than a decade ago, but there is a growing need for these skills across all sectors of the economy. Computing jobs are the top source of new wages in our country and with 500,000 current jobs in computing, this skill is in high demand.\r\nTo inspire an interest in computer science, we recognize\u00a0December 5-11 as 2016 Computer Science Education Week.\u00a0I\u2019m committed to encouraging Arkansas students to pursue computer science and I\u2019m hopeful that by working together we can continue to grow these important classes in schools across our state.\r\nLast year, I supported the\u00a0Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA),\u00a0legislation that passed Congress and was signed into law by the President\u00a0that strengthens state and local control to improve student achievement. This law includes a provision that\u00a0provides state and local districts more flexibility to fund computer science through a new block grant.\r\nAs we promote computer science education we also must provide students access to computers. I\u2019m working to close the digital divide in Arkansas as a participant in the Senate\u2019s Computers for Schools program\u00a0which donates computers no longer used in the Senate. This allows students to learn to code on more modern equipment. Helping young Arkansans develop their computer skills and connect them to technology with surplus equipment is a win for us all.\u00a0\r\nHaving a solid foundation in computer science and coding will help our students prepare for the future as job opportunities in this field keep growing.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.boozman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/weekly-columns?ContentRecord_id=87A0235B-DE7D-4809-9586-3BC2B7AB5450"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7192099001258612, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}