Senator Witkos Receives Computer Science Leadership Award

October 6, 2020

Hartford, CT – State Senator Kevin Witkos (R-Canton) is honored to announce that he has recently received a Leadership Award from the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) and ReadyCT for his work in supporting computer science education in Connecticut.   The award was recently presented during the CSTA & ReadyCT Virtual Summit held on October 2nd.

 

“I am honored to have received this award and I’m so proud of the efforts we’ve made over the past few years in ensuring computer science becomes part of the curriculum for students across Connecticut and that our teachers recognize the importance of this field.   With many industries and sectors of our economy becoming more technological and digital, computer science skills are more important than ever.  I’m proud of the bipartisan work that went into passing this legislation and so thankful for the work of CSTA, ReadyCT, Code.Org, and all of the hard working educators and computer science advocates across Connecticut” said Senator Witkos.

 

“Last year I had the chance to visit with the Girls Who Code group at Avon High School and was extremely impressed by the passion that the students and their teachers share for coding.  Coding is something that students of all ages can excel at and I’m excited for the future of computer science and coding in our schools” added Senator Witkos.

 

In 2019, Senator Witkos introduced a bill which ultimately became part of Public Act 19-128 An Act Concerning Computer Science Instruction in Public Schools. 

 

Among other things, the bill does the following:

  1. allows the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) to develop a model internship program for technology and advanced manufacturing (§ 7);
  2. adds computer science to the Connecticut Employment and Training Commission’s (CETC) statewide plan regarding certificate, middle college, early college high school, and Early College Opportunity programs (§ 8);
  3. allows DECD to identify and coordinate state resources to meet the needs of industries with anticipated job growth areas in consultation with other state agencies (§ 9);
  4. requires that the creation of student success plans for public school students in grades 6 – 12 consider career and academic choices in computer science, science, technology, engineering, and math

 

Senator Witkos Receives a Computer Science Leadership Award

Senator Witkos Receives a Computer Science Leadership Award