Amazon funding computer science courses to over 1,000 underprivileged high schools across the U.S.

On February 21, Amazon announced it will fund computer science courses in more than 1,000 high schools across all 50 states and the District of Columbia – reaching tens of thousands of students from underprivileged, underrepresented, or underserved communities, through its Amazon Future Engineer program. Of the more than 1,000 high schools, more than 700 are classified as Title I schools. Amazon’s funding provides full-year courses designed to inspire, prepare and propel students of all backgrounds to pursue a computer science education and career.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer-science-related jobs available and only 400,000 computer science graduates with the skills to apply for those jobs. Computer science is the fastest-growing profession within the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) field; but only 8% of STEM graduates earn a computer science degree, with a tiny minority from underprivileged backgrounds. Students from underprivileged backgrounds are 8 to 10 times more likely to pursue college degrees in computer science if they have taken AP computer science in high school.

“Our students are hungry for computer science education, but we could not get the funding to bring this class to our school,” said Chad Bobb, a teacher at Pike High School, a Title I school in Indianapolis, Indiana. “Amazon Future Engineer allows us to open our students’ eyes to something that is both interesting and can lead them into rewarding, thriving careers.”

“We want to ensure that every child, especially those from underprivileged communities, has an opportunity to study computer science,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer, Amazon. “We are excited more than 1,000 schools will now provide these courses, and look forward to adding 1,000 more schools over the coming months.”

The more than 1,000 high schools will offer Intro to Computer Science and AP Computer Science classes through curriculum provider, Edhesive. Amazon’s funding provides preparatory lessons, tutorials, professional development for teachers, fully sequenced and paced digital curriculum for students, and live online support every day of the week for both teachers and students.

All students participating in this program will receive a free membership to AWS Educate, which provides them with free access to computing power in the AWS Cloud for their coding projects and content to learn about cloud computing.

Launched in November 2018, Amazon Future Engineer is a four-part childhood-to-career program intended to inspire, educate, and prepare children and young adults from underprivileged, underrepresented, and underserved communities to pursue careers in the fast-growing field of computer science. Each year, Amazon Future Engineer aims to inspire more than 10 million kids to explore computer science; provide over 100,000 young people in over 2,000 high schools access to Intro or AP Computer Science courses; award 100 students with four-year $10,000 scholarships, as well as offer guaranteed and paid Amazon internships to gain work experience.

Schools, administrators, and teachers interested in applying to any stage of the Amazon Future Engineer program can apply and learn more by going to www.amazonfutureengineer.com.

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