Chicago Mayor's Office

 

 This week, the Mayor spoke at the national 100Kin10 Summit in Chicago to highlight the importance of increasing access to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.

Chicago has prioritized investing in ensuring Chicago’s children get the quality education they need to excel in tomorrow’s economy. That’s why this January we announced that our education curriculum was due for a “hackademic” upgrade. The Mayor and City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) Chancellor Hyman announced the next phase of this initiative. Approximately 1,000 City Colleges of Chicago students will develop web design and coding skills through an expanded partnership with The Starter League, founded by Neal Sales-Griffin, who is also a member of the Mayor’s Tech Diversity Council. Training tomorrow’s workforce is key to the Mayor’s vision for the city.

This school year, five Early College STEM high schools opened, each with a partner company and partner City College. In December 2011, Mayor Emanuel launched College to Careers at the City Colleges of Chicago, a nationally-recognized initiative that develops current and innovative curriculum and builds real pathways to employment through partnerships with major companies in six in-demand sectors that are growing in the city and across the country. And in 2012, the Mayor announced an expanded partnership between City Colleges of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools to nearly triple the number of schools that offer dual credit opportunities for students to earn college credit while still in high school.

You may have seen this popular video, released by Code.org, featuring Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, and others talking about the importance of learning how to program.

The narrative is clear: STEM education and computer programming is becoming as essential as reading and writing for our students. Chicago is uniquely positioned to nurture STEM education and lead in a modern economy because of the sheer amount of development and entrepreneurial talent in the city—a community interested in making sure we all grow together.