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00:00[CC may contain inaccuracies] Even doing this now for nine years nine years trying to get computer science taught in schools how much progress has there actually been. When we started 10 percent of U.S. schools taught computer science. Now it's at 51 percent. So we've now tipped it. So if you're a parent whose school doesn't your child's school doesn't teach computer science you're now in the minority. But we still want to get to the point where 100 percent of schools teach computer science. And we're also at the point where even with all these schools teaching it only 5 percent of high school students study computer science. And we want to reach every kid. So that's the next decade of workers to get to every single student in every school. So you've got Mark Zuckerberg Sheryl Sandberg Jeff Bezos Sundar Pichai and hundreds more who have signed this letter. What will this letter actually accomplish. Well the first thing I wanted to say is it's it's not surprising to see folks like Tim Cook or Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg saying that schools to teach computer science. What's truly unique is the companies outside of the tech sector the leading companies in retail transportation finance even in coffee or toys or you know Starbucks Nike Hasbro these companies Nordstrom's U.P.S. Walgreens are all getting behind computer science to show that computer science is no longer about just jobs at tech companies because every company is becoming a tech company. Every company has data science needs or cybersecurity needs. So have you gotten a response from lawmakers from the people who have the capability of changing this of adding this to a school curriculum. We've we have early signs. The National Governors Association all 50 governors are actually getting together tomorrow. And we expect by Thursday that they're going to make an announcement on this topic. We don't know exactly what it's going to say but the early signs are it's going to be tremendous. I'm hoping to see all 50 governors united behind something about computer science because this is an issue really that everybody can get behind. You've shared your story with us here over the years. But I want to remind our viewers you know you grew up in Iran. Your school didn't offer computer science. What you were still able to get access to a computer and it changed your life if your school had offering computer science. Do you think your life has been different. Well for me I had a father who was a physicist and a mother who was a computer scientist. So even growing up in post revolutionary Iran during a war I was learning to code on my own. But if you think about the most underprivileged kids in today's world the kids who are getting left behind what's the one thing we can teach them in school that gives them a pathway ahead or that even just gives them the confidence that I can build something I can make something I can I can change the world. I can be a creator. Kids wants to create. And right now they're becoming creators on tick talk or Instagram because that's easy. If they knew that they could create apps and create software there's a whole world of opportunity that we would open up for them as well. There's also the how you know what are schools getting right when they are trying to deliver this. Correct. And what are they getting wrong. I mean I've got multiple children in school. And you know there's there's this thirst for more computer science. And I even wonder if they're doing it the right way. Yeah. One of the challenges is to make sure computer science is taught creatively. So it's not just about like learn learning these things and memorizing and passing the tests were more like what do you want to create. What app do you want to create what game what Web sites to to basically draw out the natural creativity and what its top that way. It also brings in diversity into the field because more students are interested in creating stuff than they are and just sort of doing the work. So how long do you think before we get to 100 percent. I'm pretty confident that by the end of the decade we will because there's not multiple states saying that it's going to be required for graduation. There's now five states that require computer science for graduation from high school. And when you do that you get to 100 percent. You also fixed the gender gap. You fixed the racial equity gap. Every student learns. So this is the secret to everything. Yeah. I mean in South Carolina for example it's the first state that required computer science for graduation. There's now more young women in South Carolina learning computer science than the five states surrounding it even though those five states have ten times more young girls in school. South Carolina is beating the total of them combined. I mean how do you think the macroeconomic conditions going into a downturn will impact on or are you at all concerned that other things will take priority. I actually think this is the best time to invest in this because actually many states have surpluses that they can spend on education. And also any location that's worrying about economic downturns can bring jobs to the region. In the past if you wanted to attract high high income jobs you need to attract an office to be built in the world of remote work. All somebody needs to do is educate people and the jobs will come to the region. Whether it's a city or even a small town in a rural neighborhood can bring tech jobs high paying tech jobs.

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Meta, Microsoft CEOs Double Tap on Computer Science Education

Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi speaks with Emily Chang about marshaling support from the tech community to back computer science education across the US. (Source: Bloomberg)

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