Gov. Asa Hutchinson, speaking at Hall High.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Wednesday announced the new Governor’s All-Region and All-State Coding Competition.
Little Rock Superintendent Mike Poore and Krista Bourne, president of the South Central Market for Verizon, also spoke at the announcement, which took place at at Hall High School in Little Rock.
Verizon is giving $40,000 to the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce to sponsor the contest.
Teams consisting of three students, grades 8-12, will compete in eight simultaneous regional competitions across the state. The top two teams from each regional event will receive an invitation to participate in the All-State Coding Competition.
Each member of the team that places first will receive a $2,000 scholarship. Their school will also get up to $20,000 for computer science-related equipment, the governor said.
Members of the second place team will win $1,000 each; the third-place winners will walk away with $500 each. The contest is open to both public and private campuses as well as home-schooled students.
According to a news release, the state Department of Education will send out a commissioner’s memo on Sept. 15 with more information, including rules and registration details.
Hutchinson made Arkansas the first state to mandate the offering of computer science courses in every high school, and is promoting increased enrollment in those courses through a statewide tour of schools.
On Wednesday, he challenged Hall High School to increase its computer coding class enrollment from 19 to between 40 and 60 students next year, emphasizing that computer science knowledge is needed in every industry and leads to high-paying jobs.
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