Connectivity and Curriculum
Decatur schools are also ahead of the curve on connectivity in classrooms. Thanks to a partnership with Apple, the district is one-to-one with digital devices for all students in all but the earliest grades. Apple will also help educate 80 additional Decatur teachers on utilizing Swift curriculum, which features a full-year app development course designed by Apple engineers and educators.
This curriculum will go hand-in-hand with the K-12 Computer Science Pathway, teaching students the elements of app design and coding using the Swift programming language. Together, the Computer Science Pathway and Swift will help provide students with critical job skills in software development and information technology.
By building these skillsets early on, the district administration and teaching staff is confident that the K-12 Computer Science Pathway will be a huge asset to students and directly impact their career pathways. MSD of Decatur Township and Nextech envision this program helping students aspiring for a career in technology develop technical and workplace skills, authentic peer relationships, a passion for community service and deep roots for a lifelong personal and professional connection to Indianapolis.
Community Benefits
The K-12 Computer Science Pathway program also benefits the entire Decatur Township community and is specifically designed for multiple audiences, including district policymakers and administrators, curriculum developers, students, parents and teachers. One of the school district’s primary goals is to eliminate the cycle of poverty in the community by making the program available to all, and computer science courses will be offered at Decatur Township’s Area 31 Career Center. This provides community members with career pathways that are high wage and in high demand.
Plans for the K-12 Computer Science Pathway program were also instrumental in MSD of Decatur Township winning a $15,000 Education Workforce Innovation Network (EWIN) grant. The goal of EWIN is to increase the number of individuals in Indiana who complete post-secondary training in a way that aligns with workforce needs. The school district plans to utilize the grant to support the development of the K-12 Computer Science Pathway program in future phases.
These resources and partnerships allow MSD of Decatur Township to dig deeper into the K-12 Computer Science Pathway program and create an overall framework for similar pathway developments that can be replicated in the future. The Decatur Township community is excited to see the successes the pathway brings.
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