Deer Lakes awarded $35,000 grant for computer science training

Deer Lakes School District was one of 16 Allegheny County education entities, including charter schools, to be awarded a $35,000 portion of $560,000 targeted grants provided through Gov. Tom Wolf’s PAsmart initiative.

According to district officials, Deer Lakes intends to use that money for professional development with the goal of making sure that its teachers in a wide spectrum of subject areas and grade levels are well-trained in computer science concepts.

According to Deer Lakes Superintendent, Dr. Janell Logue-Belden, who applied for the grant on the district’s behalf, technological literacy and proficiency has become a fundamental responsibility of schools everywhere.

“We are, as a culture, becoming ever more reliant on technology for everything, which means that in the future even more jobs will require a greater understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) principles,” said Logue-Belden.  “As schools, we have to react to that evolving reality and understand that the more teachers we have that are well versed in computer science, the more likely our students are to be well prepared to compete in the 21st century economy.”

Some of the other area school districts to receive the prestigious grant include Duquesne, East Allegheny, Riverview, Shaler Area, South Allegheny and Steel Valley.

More information about the PAsmart initiative is available at https://bit.ly/2FDtP71.