U.S. News & World Report

Concern is mounting among educators and industry professionals that there will be a pronounced shortage of qualified employees to fill a swelling number of computer science jobs, stemming from a lack of educational opportunities for students. Ninety percent of U.S. high schools lack computer science classes, while in 33 states such classes do not count toward high school math or science graduation requirements, according to Code.org. To address this problem, Microsoft and other technology firms have deployed programs to interest more students in computer science at a younger age. Microsoft's Technology Education and Literacy in Schools (TEALS) program matches 70 schools in 12 states with about 300 professional software engineers who volunteer to help initiate computer science programs or build on existing programs. "We've started to recognize that [interest in computer science] starts much earlier [than college]," says Microsoft's Lori Harnick. To read further, please visit http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/12/27/tech-companies-work-to-combat-computer-science-education-gap.