Miscoe Hill Middle School Receives Grant to Explore Computer Programming

In mid December over 300 students  from Miscoe Hill Middle School participated in the nationwide “Hour of Code” as part of computer science education week. The goal was to expose students, for at least an hour, to the computer programming techniques that make games and other routine apps possible.

Miscoe Hill Principal Anne Meyer said, “We are surrounded by technology but the amount of students actually going in to the computer science to study it is very little.” Meyer stated by 2020 there will be a million more jobs than applicants in the computer programming science industry. Meyer said participating in the “Hour of Code” was part of the districts effort to encourage Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) among the students.

Miscoe Hill tech teacher Liz Wernig and Miscoe Hill art teacher Alice Gentili participated in the “Hour of Code” with their students.  Gentili said, “Young artists today should be learning the skills and techniques that will help them realize their creative visions throughout their lives. Students today who want to use their art education will likely pursue careers in the Media Arts fields including gaming, web design, media, media literacy, animation and digital imagery. Let’s face it, in the years between where my students are today and when they are college and career ready, many new careers will develop that haven’t even been considered yet. What we know for sure is that technology will definitely be a big part of the future.”

Gentili felt passionate about continuing computer science instruction within the school so she immediately applied for a grant through Pluralsight who was offering the “Pluralsight Hour of Code Grant.” Meyer was pleased to announce at the recent School Committee meeting that Gentili was a recipient of one of the  Pluralsight Grants. The grant will run through the end of the current school year and allow students from Miscoe Hill to access Pluralsight’s entire library which includes access to more than 650 courses. This grant will be used in the technology classroom under the instruction of the technology teacher, Liz Wernig.

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