NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott unveiled 20 schools Monday that will get new software engineering pilot programs next school year.
Beginning in September, students in grades 6 and 9 at the 20 middles schools and high schools will begin taking intensive classes in computer science and software engineering, in an effort to better prepare kids for careers in the technology sector.
“Our administration certainly knows that it's vital to prepare our children to succeed in an increasingly technologically centered economy," Bloomberg said at a press conference at the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology in Brooklyn — one of the schools that was chosen for the pilot, which the mayor announced during his State of the City address.
Kids at the schools will be taught a range of computer skills, include computer programming, web design, e-textiles, and robotics, and will get the chance to take elective classes in "digital fabrication," 3-D printing and animation.
Bloomberg said the pilot is intended to better equip kids with tech skills they'll need in the future and cement the city's reputation as a growing technology center.
The schools were selected via a competition that judged their current technology offerings, and teachers at the schools will receive special training before the classes start.
The programs are expected to serve about 1,000 students — or 50 per school —this fall, and will expand, grade-by-grade, to 3,500 students by 2016, Bloomberg said.
The schools are:
High Schools
Brooklyn:
- High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology
- Brooklyn Technical High School
The Bronx:
- The Bronx Compass High School
Manhattan:
- The Renaissance Charter High School for Innovation
- Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology
Queens:
- Queens Vocational & Technical High School
- Cambria Heights Academy
Staten Island:
- Ralph McKee High School
- New Dorp High School
Middle Schools
Brooklyn:
- Ditmas Intermediate School 62
- I.S. 30 Mary White Ovington
- Mark Twain I.S. 239 for the Gifted and Talented
The Bronx:
- Bronx Park Middle School
- M.S. 223 The Laboratory School of Finance and Technology
- Eagle Academy for Young Men
Manhattan:
- Tompkins Square Middle School
Queens:
- Nathaniel Hawthorne Middle School 74
- J.H.S. 185 Edward Bleeker
- Pathways College Preparatory School
- J.H.S. 157 Stephen A. Halsey