Giving Compass' Take:

• Bill Gates visits the Academy for Software Engineering (AFSE), a coding school in Manhattan that teaches students about computer science, 3D printing, and design. 

• How can specialized schools such as AFSE create more partnerships with businesses that need these skills? How is this school contributing to the future tech workforce? 

• Read about STEMpath, a certification program that helps to train more educators for STEM courses. 

I was 13 years old when I fell in love with programming. My school had just become one of the first in the country to get a computer terminal. The machine was huge and slow, and it didn’t even have a screen—but I was hooked. My friends and I would spend hours creating new programs and plugging away in BASIC. That introduction to computer science changed the course of my life. I recently visited a high school that hopes to do the same for young people in New York.

The Academy for Software Engineering—or AFSE—is a public high school located in Manhattan. Opened in 2012, it has a pretty amazing curriculum that uses computer science concepts to help students get ready for college. All students learn the basics of computer science during their first two years. When they become juniors, they choose to specialize in either programming or design.

Unlike some specialized schools, there are no criteria for admission. Rising freshmen in New York City get assigned to public schools through a lottery system. Any student can apply to attend AFSE, and their grades and attendance record have no bearing on their chances of getting picked. The result is an incredibly diverse student body from all over the city (although they’re trying to get more girls to apply).

I think everyone can benefit from learning the basics of computer science. The questions it teaches you to ask—How do you accomplish a task? Can you find a pattern? What data do you need?—are useful no matter where you go in life. Computer science helped shape the way I think about the world. I hope it does the same for the students I met at the Academy for Software Engineering.

Read the full article about the Academy of Software Engineering by Bill Gates at Gates Notes