Oregon is often referred to as the Silicon Forest and has traditionally been home to high technology companies such as Intel, Tektronix, and HP. These companies have spun off hundreds of other businesses. Oregon is also noted for our software and IT industry with companies specializing in design, digital & social media, financial solutions, open source, training, mobile applications, and health care. More than 5,300 software and IT companies were located in Oregon over the past 10 years.
Technology and software industries support high paying jobs that pay Oregon’s taxes. Oregon’s software industry pays an average S140,000 annually, more than double the average across all industries. However, software employment statewide is down 7,4% from its peak in 2022.
It is critical that Computer Science and software remain vital Oregon industries. To help grow the software industry we need to train more programmers and software engineers starting with state-funded K-12 computer science education.
Introducing the CODE.org Advocacy Coalition for Computer Science Education
The Code.org Advocacy Coalition includes over 100 industry, nonprofit, and advocacy organizations with the goal of making computer science a fundamental part of K-12 education. Code.org’s 2023 State of Computer Science Education Report describes ten policy recommendations for K-12 computer science education (page 5 in report). States are graded on whether their K-12 computer science education programs implement the ten policy recommendations.
Oregon is the worst state in the country, meeting only one of the policy recommendations (page 11 in report).
Status of K-12 Computer Science Education in Oregon
Oregon already has a dedicated group of organizations and volunteers providing K-12 computer science education. Organizations with a long history of supporting K-12 computer science education include the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO), TechStart, Oregon Computer Science Teachers Association (OregonCSTA), Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program (ORTOP), and Saturday Academy. But Oregon has traditionally lacked a state-supported K-12 computer science plan and state funding.
Oregon Computer Science Education Statewide Implementation Plan and Funding
Oregon has a plan to change the dismal statistics on computer science education. In December 2023, the Oregon Department of Education published the Oregon Computer Science Education Statewide Implementation Plan. The goal of the statewide plan is to provide K-12 computer science education for all students. The implementation plan estimates an investment of $50M for the first biennium. This will require legislation to be passed to become a reality.
The Oregon Computer Science Education Statewide Implementation Plan states that every Oregon student deserves the opportunity to learn computer science and critical thinking. The study of computer science supports developing collaboration and interdisciplinary skills and opens doors both to higher education and to high-wage, high-demand careers. But disparities exist in access to computer science education particularly among female-identifying students, rural students, students of color, students with disabilities, and multilingual students. Computer science education should be based on a framework that guides students from computer users to computer literate creators who are proficient in the concepts and practices of computer science, as informed by national frameworks and standards.
Plan Outcome #3: Computer Science Education has Stable, Long-Term Funding
The recommended funding strategies in the Oregon CS Plan include:
Strategy 3.1: Fund efforts to support and expand equitable access to culturally responsive and sustaining computer science education for Oregon students on an annual basis.
Strategy 3.2: Fund and authorize permanent positions at the Oregon Department of Education to support computer science education.
Take Action Now
Implementing the Oregon K-12 Computer Science Education requires the Oregon legislature to pass adequate, continued funding.
According to John Tortoricci, TechStart’s Chair Of The Board Of Directors, “Today it would be impossible to find anything in our lives that is not touched by technology and specifically by Computer Science. It’s a sad state of affairs to see Oregon falling so low on the list of states that support Computer Science in schools. Oregon’s ‘CS Plan’ can reverse this situation and bring us into the twenty-first century so that our companies can hire young people from Oregon rather than having to import qualified staff from other states.”