Dear School Administrator,

I am writing to give my support and strongly encourage you and the school district to include computer science in the curriculum for our students.

Computer science has become as foundational to our children's lives as biology and math. We are being impacted by computer science in both our personal and professional lives in an ever-increasing way.

The average salary for a computing occupation in Mississippi is $70,798, which is significantly higher than the average salary in the state ($38,910). The existing open computing jobs alone (over 1,000) represents an $80 million opportunity for our youth in Mississippi.

Computing jobs are currently the fastest-growing and best-paying positions in the U.S. It isn't just technology companies looking for these skills, either — today, proficiency with computers is a requirement for 71% of all U.S. jobs. Now is the time to prepare our students for the jobs of today and tomorrow.

According to a Gallup poll, 90% parents would like their child's school to teach computer science, which students rank as one of their favorite subjects. Just as our kids learn the rules of grammar and math, our students should have a chance to learn how our digital world works.

83% of parents and 64% of principals in rural and small towns believe offering computer science is more or equally as important as any required course. However, in Mississippi only 18% of Mississippi public high schools teach computer science. It's time for a change. Will you help bring computer science education to our school?

The C Spire Tech Movement (cspire.com/techmvmt), together with CS4MS, is on a mission to see more districts in the state of Mississippi offer computer science education. Through the CS4MS initiatives launched in 2016, over 1,000 teachers across 70 districts have been trained to teach computer science, impacting over 60,000 students. Please consider bringing these opportunities to our students.

For more information, please see the following resources:

• Complete this form and someone from the Center for Cyber Education at Mississippi State University will contact you: tinyurl.com/YES-CS4MS
• Go to CS4MS website to learn more: cs4ms.org/
• Visit cspire.com/techmvmt to learn more about C Spire's support of computer science education.
• Contact for more information on bringing computer science to your school.

Sincerely,

A parent / community member