Standing next to a large sign with the hashtag #ARKidsCanCode on Tuesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said enrollment in computer science courses in the state has exceeded expectation.
The governor's Computer Science Initiative required that all Arkansas high schools and charter schools offer such courses starting this fall.
More than 1,300 students have enrolled in the online coding course offered by the state through Virtual Arkansas -- a state-based program offering digital courses, he said. The number of students taking the course in a classroom will be unknown until October.
One hundred and thirty teachers have completed various professional development programs to prepare them to teach computer science courses, Hutchinson said.
"Those are a couple of statistics that I think show this initiative has a significant amount of momentum," he said. "As we go into the school year, we obviously are marketing it this week and next week. I'm encouraging students to take computer science next year."
The governor also announced that an event Saturday that offers free backpacks and school supplies to some Arkansas students also will offer them an hour of computer science tutorials.
The annual Head of the Class Bash runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Clinton Presidential Center in downtown Little Rock.
The event's sponsor, the Clinton Foundation, has partnered with the governor's office to offer an Hour of Code, where students can sit with an instructor and a laptop for 45-minute to 1-hour computer science tutorials from Code.org.
The coding courses will be offered on a rolling basis during Saturday's event, said Rebecca Tennille, the center's spokesman.
The first 1,500 students at the event also will receive free backpacks and back-to-school supplies. In addition, the event offers activities, giveaways and free haircuts, immunizations and preparation for college entrance exams.
In honor of former President Bill Clinton's birthday, admission to the presidential center also will be free all day Saturday.
"This is always a really fun day, but this year offers an opportunity to expose students, parents and teachers to coding," Tennille said. "We hope it will plant that seed of curiosity that they can continue to grow."
Tennille said the hour of coding is just the first step in the partnership between the Clinton Foundation and the governor's office. In the fall, the foundation will offer professional development courses for computer science instructors, she said.
Hutchinson will try coding at the event, he said.
"It's a great opportunity for young students to come and see their governor stumble around for an hour of code."
Metro on 08/12/2015