BOISE, Idaho — A new initiative was launched on April 22 that teaches Idaho students in grades 7 through 12 how to build websites and develop apps with HTML, CSS and JavaScript. The Success in Education Foundation, Idaho Technology Council, Office of the Governor, Idaho STEM Action Center, Acahand Foundation, St. Luke's Health System and other leaders from industry, government and education all collaborated on the initiative.
Idaho Codes is an online, self-paced computer science course that requires no previous coding experience. Urban and rural students and access 120 hours of professional curriculum, earn high school and college credit, as well as find mentorship opportunities.
The course typically costs $200, but thanks to donations from the Acahand Foundation and St. Luke's Health System in partnership with the Idaho STEM Action Center, the first 1,000 students who register will get their fees waived.
Computer science is one of the most in-demand college degrees. Computing is used in many careers and CS careers are the number one source of all new wages in the United States. CS jobs account for over half of all projected job growth in STEM fields. The Education Commission of the States anticipates computing jobs in Idaho will grow 19 percent by 2027.
The Idaho Technology Council is leading the industry-led initative in partnership with the Idaho STEM Action Center. The engine behind it is Salt Lake City nonprofit Success in Education, which offers a similar program throughout Utah and is handling registrations and managing the website for the Idaho initiative.
Bottega, an accredited software development school, is providing best-in-class curriculum approved by the Northwest Accreditation Commission (a division of Cognia) and the American Council on Education.
