“The students at Wesley Academy were quickly learning the skills that I was teaching and are moving at a much quicker pace than I ever anticipated. I am teaching skills to my 3rd and 4th graders that I wasn’t taught until high school, yet they are learning it quickly and wanting more,” said Waguespack.
 

With this in mind, Waguespack started seeking new materials for her students to learn. “I wanted something that was going to benefit their overall education, not something subject specific, but something that they could take with them to high school and on to college. But, technology is changing and moving at such a fast rate, I had to figure out how to write a curriculum that could adapt to the current trends, meet the international standards, and yet be progressive enough to push our students to learn things that they didn’t think were possible with the technology that they are exposed to at home. I want our students and school to lead the pack when it comes to technology, not just follow the latest trends. That is when I came across Code.org.”
 

Code.org is a movement started by Hadi Partovi, an investor and entrepreneur. Partovi was on the founding teams of Tellme and iLike, and has been an early advisor to numerous start-ups including Facebook, Dropbox, and airbnb among others. The idea behind the movement is to spread the word that there is a worldwide shortage of computer programmers, and that it’s much easier to learn than you think.
 

Here are some facts from Code.org:
 

•9 out of 10 schools do not teach any form of computer programming.

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• Less than 2.4% of college students graduate with a degree in computer science; that’s less than 10 years ago.
 

• Only 2% of college students in the math and science fields are in computer science, but 60% of the jobs available for math and science graduates are in the field of computer science.
 

“Learning to write programs stretches your mind, and helps you think better, creates a way of thinking about things that I think is helpful in all domains,“ stated Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft on Code.org.
 

“All students in the 21st century need to have the opportunity to learn coding starting in elementary school. It is exciting for kids and introduces them to thinking skills that are critical for the digital age and that promote the study of computer science,“ said Esther Wojcicki the Vice Chair, Creative Commons Board of Directors.
 

“I was overwhelmed with excitement. I knew this was the direction that our school needed to go to become the leader in the field that I was wanting it to be,“ stated Waguespack. This year, the Wesley Academy Middle School 6th-8th Grade Technology class is paving the way for the rest of the school by becoming the first class to learn computer programming at Wesley.  “I think [learning coding] distinguishes us from other schools and in a way that is really exciting,” said Louis Hathon, 8th Grader.  Another student, Derrick Wall, 8th Grader stated, “I think this is going to prepare us for high school in such a way that other schools could not. I think this is a lifelong skill that I will be able to use.” “I love when we are in class learning to write code because it is fun and challenging skill that takes patience,” stated Grant Reinhart, 7th Grader.
 

Next year, there are already plans to expand the program from Middle School down to the Elementary School. The technology program will now not only focus on basic computer use, digital citizenship and cyber safety, search and presentation techniques, and educational technology, but will include learning computer programming and basic robotics.
 

Wesley Academy is the only school in the Houston Area that teaches programming at both the Elementary and Middle School Levels. In fact, as of this publication, Wesley is the only middle school in Houston that teaches computer programing and the only school that has a technology program at both levels according to Code.org. To learn more about the technology program and the other great programs at Wesley Academy, visit www.wesleyacademy.net.