C Spire executives and state education officials announced the launch of the Software Development Pathway public-private partnership during a news conference Wednesday. Pictured, from left, are Pete Smith of the Mississippi Department of Education, Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, C Spire CEO Hu Meena, Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board Andrea Mayfield, and MSU President Mark E. Keenum. (Photo by Logan Kirkland, MSU)
The Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit will add more to its efforts to teach coding and computer science in Mississippi thanks to a $550,000 grant from its longtime partner C Spire.
The grant was announced Wednesday in a press conference at C Spire’s headquarters in Ridgeland. The funds will be used to begin a new program called the C Spire Software Development Pathway. It is a public-private partnership between C Spire and the RCU’s new Center for Cyber Education. The pathway is based off the success of the BaseCamp Coding Academy for high school students in Water Valley, and will start with 30 teachers and 150 students statewide. All Base Camp alumni have received multiple job offers.
“In the old days, we used to have people out looking for jobs," said Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who was present at the press conference. “Today we have jobs out looking for people. There are literally hundreds of jobs available for software developers, and we simply don’t have the people to fill those positions. By the way, these are good paying jobs as well.”
Reeves emphasized the importance of all levels of education working together to fill the gap, with the K-12 pathway leading to community college coding programs, as well as computer science and other computer programs at MSU.
“It’s a partnership that we need to strengthen and replicate to meet the needs of the workforce of tomorrow,” Reeves said. “The workforce of tomorrow will rely on computers and robotics, to where the language you need to know is a line of code.
MSU President Mark Keenum discussed the importance of the partnership to the university and the RCU.
“This wonderful gift will be a tremendous asset to provide cyber education K-12 all the way through high school, and then working in tandem with our community colleges to provide a pathway for students to gain an associate’s degree with software development,” Keenum said.
Like Reeves, Keenum emphasized the need to prepare future workers for technological jobs.
“We want to attract high tech industries and jobs to Mississippi,” Keenum said. “Well, to do that, we’ve got to have a trained workforce. This is going to give us opportunities using the expertise with our Research and Curriculum Unit, which has already been working withthe Mississippi Department of Education training teachers at the K-12 level.”
Keenum also said MSU was one of only three universities nationwide to be recognized as an areas of excellence in cybersecurity, cyber education and computer science.
Even with the initial $550,000, the program is currently searching for additional funding to carry it into the future.
The RCU has already been working with C Spire on the Computer Science for Mississippi (CS4MS) program, which has been teaching coding in Mississippi schools since 2015. The CS4MS program aims to have computer science instructors in all 896 elementary, middle and high schools in Mississippi by the 2023-2024 school year.
"We live in a software defined world where code and the internet influence every aspect of our lives,” said C Spire CEO Hu Meena. “Computer science, coding and software development drives innovation and creates jobs in our economy, but we need to do more now to encourage schools to offer courses, equip teachers and enable young people to develop these important skills and pursue IT careers.”
Mississippi Department of Education Chief of Communications and Government Relations Pete Smith said the program fit in with MDE’s list of six goals for education in Mississippi. These include creating a world-class educational system and graduating college and career ready students, among others.
“Expanding computer science into all K-12 schools by the year 2024 is a very aggressive timeline, but it’s one that is possible with the help of our corporate sponsors like C Spire and the C Spire Software Development Pathway,” Smith said.
Mississippi Community College Board Executive Director Andrea Mayfield also emphasized the need to train workers for the future. She said the community college board was always prepared to make changes to meet the future.
“We’re doing it together,” Mayfield said. “That's the most exciting part of all, leveraging resources through a partnership to make a difference in the lives of Mississippians.”