The Friday Institute partners with educational leaders and policy makers from the school to national level. We build educator capacity to create opportunities for ALL in North Carolina to explore computer science.
Professional Learning Programs for Educators across North Carolina
NC Computer Science Professional Development 6-12
Register for Code.org training programs thanks to a grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to expand the Friday Institute’s ability to offer its professional learning programs to NC public school educators teaching middle and high school students.
Making Computer Science (CS) STICK: Systemic Change for Teachers
By implementing a scalable professional development program and co-creating locally relevant curricular materials with teachers, this project aims to increase access to computing education in elementary schools, ensuring that every student in North Carolina has the opportunity to experience CS regardless of historical stereotypes and institutional barriers.
Personalized school and district computer science professional development sessions can be created just for you! Please contact us to learn of the many ways we can support you and your CS needs.
“Computer science is a liberal art; it’s something that everybody should be exposed to and everyone should have a mastery of to some extent.“
Steve Jobs
Founder, Apple
Computer science opens more doors for students than any other discipline in today’s world. Learning even the basics will help students in virtually any career — from architecture to zoology.
Just as we teach students how to dissect a frog or how electricity works, it’s important for every 21st century student to have a chance to design an app or an algorithm or learn how the Internet works.
A 2020 Gallup study looked at the landscape of computer science education in the U.S. to offer new insights into the current state of computer science education.
A 2020 Gallup study found that 69% of all parents and guardians believe that computer science is important for their child to learn, but only 40% of students feel it’s important
58% of superintendents across the country feel CS curriculum is a top priority for their district, but 28% of principals and 18% of teachers agree
Career Opportunities
In North Carolina, there are currently over 22,000 open computing jobs, but only:
61%
of schools in NC offer a computer science class
6,275
students in NC took the AP exam in the 2020-21 school year
2,332
students graduated with a computer science degree in NC in 2019
