prefaCe We ’ ve all heard it said that it takes just one voice to change the world! But how many people believe that? And how many believe that just one voice can start something that will impact millions, literally. We have seen the impact that one person ’ s voice has made to change the world. Noticing the struggle that tech companies were having to fill jobs in their businesses, especially computer science jobs, Hadi Partovi made an observation. Hadi thought, “ If I could get kids to try coding for just an hour, they ’ d be hooked. ” Hadi took his thought and turned it into a vision, and his voice has been the driving force to change the world of computer science education. And thanks to Hadi ’ s voice, coupled with his vision and voices of countless others, the world is changing. Thanks to the Hour of Code ™. North Florida is changing, as well. There was a time, not too long ago, when educators did not know about the importance of teaching coding, and there were only a few computer science classes being offered anywhere in our region. Students simply didn ’ t have the opportunity to even try coding. Thanks to the effort of Code.org and the Hour of Code ™, that has now changed. Worldwide, over 800,000,000 students have now had at least an introductory experience with coding. Reaching this staggering number of students took perseverance and determination. It began with awareness and a few committed individuals who decided it would be important for all children to get to experience computer science through coding. This led Code.org to develop curriculum pathways, beginning in elementary school with computer science fundamentals. As demand grew, there was a need to build upon this foundation and bring computer science classes into middle schools and high schools. Code.org developed a middle school program, Computer Science Discoveries, and a high school program, Computer Science Principles. And all this curriculum is available freely across the world. Many organizations have come together to work towards the promise of equitable access for everyone. Here in Florida, through the tireless work of Gary Chartrand, former member of the state board of education, and the remarkable founder of our STEM2 Hub, we now have computer science standards for our state. On the pages that follow, we will share the story of how one district in Northeast Florida came together to celebrate Computer Science Education Week in a big way, and implemented a district - wide Hour of Code ™. We hope our story will excite and inspire you and that an aspect of our blueprint will resonate with you and inspire you to action! I
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