$100K Donated To Escambia School District For Computer Science Programs

December 12, 2015

The Sansing Foundation is giving $100,000 to the Escambia County School District to increase computer science instruction in classes in all grade levels over the next two calendar years.

“As a business owner,” explained Sandy Sansing, “I am keenly aware of the importance of technology in the success of my employees and business.  Every local student should have a chance to learn about computer science and technology. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st century career.”

“Mr. Sandy Sansing has been a longtime friend of the Escambia County School District.  His desire to see our children and our community prosper, by partnering with us to increase educational experiences for our students and teachers, is evidenced today,” Superintendent Malcolm Thomas said.

The first $50,000 of the grant funds will allow the district to do the following in 2016:

●       Provide all elementary schools with materials to support participation in Science Olympiad, with EV3 Mindstorm core sets, and LabView Programming Software.

●       Send seven district instructors to the Computer Science Teachers’ Association Conference next July.

●       Provide the Robotics Academy at Pine Forest High School with Arduinos Microcontroller kits (kits for building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control objects in the physical world).

●       Bring AP Computer Science courses in selected high schools by training teachers for implementation during the next school year.

●       Cover the cost for web development training for teachers from Tate, Washington, Pensacola, West Florida and Pine Forest High Schools to obtain certification this summer to teach HTML next year.

●       And, cover the cost for web development training for teachers from Tate, Washington, Pensacola, West Florida and Pine Forest High Schools to obtain certification this summer to teach OCA: Java Script Programmer next year.

A second $50,000 grant donation will allow the district to build on these programs in 2017. The grant will be managed by the ECSD Workforce Education Department.

“Our Workforce instructors use their own training and technical certifications to prepare students to attain their computer science certifications,” said Dr. Michelle Taylor, ECSD’s director of Workforce Education. “We know that certifications help our graduates  obtain employment, begin careers, and advance their education. The Sansing Foundation has been a catalyst for our district to take a big step forward in preparing students for STEM jobs in computer technology beginning at the elementary level and through increased rigor and opportunity at the high school level.”

Comments

4 Responses to “$100K Donated To Escambia School District For Computer Science Programs”

  1. just sayin on December 14th, 2015 8:21 am

    This article needs a positive comment. Thank you Mr Sansing for your generous gift to our schools.

  2. Julie Hart on December 12th, 2015 11:05 pm

    How about some money to repair the infrastructure in our schools??

  3. Norghview on December 12th, 2015 7:37 am

    What about Northview?

  4. Don on December 12th, 2015 6:03 am

    but we buy the pencils and crayons to fill sandy’s van every year,will he want computers this year?

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under FEATURE TOP STORY, Features, News