Oregon has a crying need for more tech savvy people. According to Code.org, Oregon averages 7,260 open computing jobs each month. At the same time, fewer than 2,000 students are graduating with computer science degrees.

Where can we find the people to fill these jobs?

Looking at the demographics, our biggest opportunity is to educate our female student population. Studies have shown that girls are just as capable as boys. And yet women make up a small fraction of the people working in tech. We need to change the way that we teach computer science to include girls and other underrepresented populations.

Luckily, one of the world's top experts on teaching computer science to underrepresented communities is our own Professor Joanna Goode, the Sommerville Knight Professor in the University of Oregon College of Education. She helped create Exploring Computer Science, a curriculum and professional development program used in schools across the country. Professor Goode was recently interviewed by Oregon Public Broadcasting where she talks about Oregon's statewide plan for computer science education.

According to Code.org's report on the state of computer science education, Oregon is the worst state in the country for computer science education policies. Please check out OPB's interview with Professor Goode to get a better idea of the challenges and opportunities that we face to implement this plan.

But having a plan is not enough. The plan provides a roadmap, but we need to provide sustained funding to ensure its success. The upcoming legislative session is our best opportunity to do that. Please reach out to your representative and senator to let them know that you want them to take action to provide this funding.

Our future depends on it.

Pete Steinfeld
Executive Director
TechStart