Good Schools For All By Voice Of San Diego

Tech jobs abound. Our education system isn't churning out enough students with computer science training to meet the voracious demand for high-skilled tech workers. But schools in San Diego are trying to catch up. Locally, only 10 percent of San Diego County high schools offered computer science courses as recently as 2011. This year, closer to 40 percent of high schools here have computer science curriculum. Behind that jump in numbers are educators like Art Lopez, a computer science teacher at Sweetwater High School and a curriculum specialist for the Sweetwater Union High School District. In the podcast, hosts Scott Lewis and Laura Kohn talk to Lopez about local and state efforts to get computer science education to more — and more diverse — students. Seven years ago, a student asked Lopez why La Jolla High had computer science courses and Sweetwater High didn't. Meanwhile, the number of jobs requiring tech skills was exploding. “We wanted to change that landscape," he said. He wasn't alone in his e