Google is pledging a further $20 million to expand computer science education among "underrepresented" communities. These funds are expected to to improve educational access for more than 11 million American students. 

On the Google blog Sundar Pichai 

At Google, we believe educational opportunities should be available regardless of socioeconomic status, background, race or geography. So today, we’re building on our long-time support for nonprofits with an additional $20 million commitment to expand CS education access to more than 11 million students across the U.S.  

We’ll focus our efforts on supporting national and local organizations who reach underserved students in major urban centers and rural communities, and who help governments and educators implement CS education plans nationwide.

Some recipients of the new funds are longtime Google Partners. The Hidden Genius Project, which was a winner of Google’s 2015 Impact Challenge, is an international nonprofit that provides Black male youth with training and mentoring in technology, entrepreneurship and leadership.  4-H has been working with Google since 2017 and has has already introduced 1.4 million students to CS education pathways, 65% of them in rural communities. 

Google CEO Sundar Pichai and 4-H CEO Jennifer Sirangelo at a 4-H event.

Other beneficiaries include UT Austin’s Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, CUNY’s Computing Integrated Teacher Education project, and the nonprofit CodePath. Urban funding will focus on Atlanta, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC, and Los Angeles.

Pichai commented

“Living in the Bay Area... it’s clear to me how many schools here have already transitioned and incorporated exposure to CS education as part of their curriculum. It’s important that this happens across the country, to rural areas, to places that are historically underrepresented.” 

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Bringing computer science education to 11 million students

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