Press Release: Deadline Approaching For First Maryland Hour Of Code Contest

Deadline Is November 30

For Immediate Release                                      Contact: Bill Reinhard, 410-767-0486, 410-241-7108 (cell)

Baltimore, MD (November 24, 2014)

The deadline is just around the corner for Maryland State Department of Education’s (MSDE)  first “Maryland Hour of Code” contest.

MSDE launched the contest earlier this month, and nearly 50 Maryland schools have already applied.  The program will award a $10,000 technology donation to a public school that ensures every student has at least one-hour of computer coding experience during Computer Science Education Month (December 8-14).

To apply for the Maryland Hour of Code contest, log-on to the online application. The deadline for submitting contest entries is 11:59 p.m. on November 30, 2014.

National nonprofit Code.org offers its annual Hour of Code contest and awards $10,000 in classroom technology to one school in each state. Last year, Middle River Middle School in Baltimore County was one of 50 schools nationwide to win technology for its classrooms. More importantly, students had the chance to learn computer programming.

The Maryland Hour of Code will provide a second public school with technology for computing, thanks to the generous sponsorship of the Northrop Grumman Corporation and in coordination with the BWI Business Partnership. Public school teachers are invited to describe their plan for computer coding activities and how every student in their school will participate in at least one hour of computer coding next month. Code.org provides a “How-to Guide for Teachers” and other resources. The $10,000 prize is in the form of DonorsChoose.org funding credits. For information on the national nonprofit DonorsChoose, log-on to www.donorschoose.org/about.

Currently, 4,000 of Maryland’s 870,000 public school students are enrolled in computer science and programming-related courses in career and technical education programs at 39 high schools in Maryland. Another 1,200 students have enrolled in Advanced Placement computer science courses offered at 117 schools. Maryland had the most African American or Black students take the AP Computer Science exam and was eighth among states with the most Hispanic students who took the exam in 2013.

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