ATLANTA –State Representative Dar’shun Kendrick (D-Lithonia) today announced that the Georgia General Assembly unanimously adopted House Resolution 1036 on Thursday, March 29, 2018. HR 1036, which was sponsored by Rep. Kendrick, urges the state of Georgia to fund a computer science education public awareness campaign.
“Georgia is a national leader in the tech industry,” said Rep. Kendrick. “To maintain our competitive advantage, we must ensure all Georgia students have the exposure and opportunity to take part in the ever growing technology industry. With greater public awareness of computer science education through a comprehensive statewide campaign, the opportunities for Georgia students will be limitless.”
“The passing of HR 1036 is a pivotal and historic step forward for the state of Georgia, particularly as we continue to attract large scale technology companies to the region and launch high growth startups that create net new jobs from the ground up,” said Rodney Sampson, Executive Chairman & CEO of Opportunity Hub. “By urging the state to fund an innovative, interactive and relevant integrated branding, advertising and marketing campaign for parents, schools, industry, influencers and communities to be aware of the careers and entrepreneurial opportunities of today and the future and the skills required to acquire them, we increase our funnel of interested stakeholders. Until this is done, companies will continue to hire talent from abroad for jobs that could be filled by local citizens.”
“We’re truly excited and energized by the unanimous passing of HR 1036 by the Georgia General Assembly,” said Errika Moore, Executive Director for the Technology Association of Georgia Education Collaborative (TAG-Ed). “We know that this comprehensive marketing and public relations initiative will enlighten and empower major influencers in a student’s life, like parents, counselors, education administrators, community leaders, corporations and entrepreneurs. This type of coordinated awareness can help change trajectories and paradigms for thousands of students in our state. And with change comes increased economic mobility shifting our current status from 48th in the country. With change comes more consistent and sustainable employment for the 60 percent of our students who currently unfortunately are not targeted for accelerated STEM career pathways. For Georgia, our current need or demand for technology talent far outpaces the production of that talent, so here at TAG-Ed we are fully committed to leading the actual fulfillment of this statewide marketing initiative to make a difference in the lives of students and to help close the gap in Georgia’s workforce needs.”
HR 1036 urges the state of Georgia to fund a public awareness campaign on computer science education. This comprehensive statewide campaign would include a summit, counselor and administrator awareness and enhancing awareness for curriculum options for students in an effort to encourage students to enter computer science careers.
For more information on HR 1036, please click here.
Representative Dar’shun Kendrick represents the citizens of District 93, which includes portions of DeKalb and Gwinnett counties. She was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010 and currently serves on the Interstate Cooperation, Juvenile Justice, Judiciary Non-Civil and Small Business Development committees.
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