The Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Decatur Township today announces its introduction and implementation of its K-12 Computer Science Pathway. Through a partnership with local nonprofit Nextech and a collaboration with Apple, the K-12 Computer Science Pathway will offer students of Decatur township the opportunity to develop a foundation of computer science
Throughout the Decatur township school system more than 200 middle and high school students have enrolled in three different computer science courses covering topics ranging from simple design, coding and strategies to more technical courses including app development, cyber security and database analytics. That number is expected to grow, as Nextech sees an average of a 580 percent increase in students enrolling over a three-year period.
Prior to this school year, nearly 150 Decatur township teachers participated in Nextech’s training on a variety of computer science-related topics and were provided with additional content knowledge, instructional strategies, industry experience and resources to deliver the computer science curriculum to students. In addition, elementary and middle school teachers underwent training to learn how to incorporate computer science into their existing curriculum and lesson plans.
Apple will help the township educate 80 additional Decatur teachers on utilizing Swift curriculum, which features a full-year app development course designed by Apple engineers and educators that will go hand-in-hand with the K-12 Computer Science Pathway, teaching students the elements of app design and coding using the Swift programming language.
