Computer Science Education Week: Preparing Tulsa’s Youth for a Digital Future
Computer science influences every part of modern life. From communication and entertainment to national security and energy systems, technology is powered by people who understand how digital tools work. During Computer Science Education Week, Urban Coders Guild celebrates students who are building these skills and the families, educators, and partners who support them.
Computer science is a modern literacy. Understanding technology is now as essential as reading, writing, and math. Students who gain digital literacy and computer science experience are more prepared for school, work, and civic life. They are also better positioned to participate in Tulsa’s growing innovation economy.
When Computer Science Education Week Happens and Why
Computer Science Education Week takes place each year in early December. In 2025, it will be observed from December 8 through 14. The week is scheduled to include December 9, the birthday of Rear Adm. Grace Murray Hopper, a computing pioneer who shaped early programming languages and influenced how computer scientists think today.
The event began in 2009 as a national effort to expand computer science education in K through 12 schools and to highlight Hopper’s impact. Her legacy reminds us that innovation requires both imagination and broad access to opportunity. For many students, this access remains uneven, which is why this week is significant for our city and community.
What Computer Science Is
Computer science is the study of how digital systems are designed, built, and used. It includes programming, software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence, robotics, game development, human-computer interaction, and related fields.
At its core, computer science teaches students to think clearly and creatively. It helps them break complex problems into manageable steps and design solutions that work.
What Computer Science Education Includes
Students encounter computer science through a variety of pathways that help them develop confidence, skill, and purpose.
Examples of student learning opportunities include:
• Web development and programming fundamentals
• Game design, simulation, and digital storytelling
• Mobile app development
• Cybersecurity and digital safety
• Data science and analytics
• Robotics and computational thinking
Many students later pursue related college majors such as computer science, software engineering, data science, or information technology. Early career certifications, including ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity, CompTIA A+, Google IT Support, or AWS Cloud Practitioner, also help students demonstrate skills to future employers.
These pathways open doors to high-growth careers that influence Tulsa’s long-term economic health.
Why Computer Science Education Matters for Urban Coders Guild Students and Families
Urban Coders Guild serves students who often have limited access to high-quality computer science instruction during the school day. Some attend schools without trained CS teachers or consistent course offerings. Others face barriers related to cost, transportation, or awareness of opportunity.
For these students, computer science is more than a school subject. It represents agency, mobility, and possibility.
Students in UCG programs develop technical skills, but they also grow through the organization’s 5 C’s: comfort in advanced learning spaces, courage to attempt complex tasks, confidence in their ability to persist, community among peers and mentors, and competency as developing technologists.
Our students discover new interests, set higher goals, and build skills that help them imagine futures that once felt out of reach. And parents recognize computer science as a path to stable, well-paying careers and long-term security.
Why Computer Science Education Matters for Tulsa
Tulsa has committed to developing a future-forward, tech-driven economy with growing opportunities in cybersecurity, software development, digital health, energy technology, and data analytics. Local companies increasingly rely on workers who understand digital tools.
To sustain this growth, Tulsa must cultivate homegrown talent. A strong tech ecosystem cannot depend solely on attracting workers from other regions. The city needs students from every neighborhood and background to participate in this work. Tulsa’s tech workforce in 2030 is sitting in today’s middle and high school classrooms, and many of those future innovators are students Urban Coders Guild serves right now. The investments we make today in computer science education will shape who leads, builds, and powers Tulsa’s digital future.
Equitable access to computer science education is essential for building a workforce that reflects the full diversity of Tulsa. When students from historically underrepresented communities gain access to CS skills, we strengthen the city’s economy and help Tulsa compete nationally.
Computer science education is not only a workforce priority. It is a community strategy that expands opportunity and prepares young people for the realities of a rapidly changing digital world, including future possibilities that do not yet exist or are still beyond today’s technological horizon.
Urban Coders Guild’s Role in Expanding Access
Urban Coders Guild provides free, out-of-school programs for middle and high school students across Tulsa. Students learn web development, mobile apps, game design, and cybersecurity through hands-on projects that encourage creativity and collaboration.
UCG also supports classroom educators by offering curriculum guidance, professional learning, instructional support, and classroom activities that strengthen computer science pathways in schools. These combined efforts create a communitywide learning ecosystem.
A Call to Action for Tulsa
Urban Coders Guild works to ensure that all students, regardless of background, have access to the opportunities that computer science provides. This work depends on collective support.
You can help by:
• Supporting Urban Coders Guild financially so programs remain free
• Serving as a mentor or guest speaker
• Partnering as a school, nonprofit, company, or civic agency
• Advocating for equitable access to computer science education
Your investment helps students build skills that prepare them for college, careers, and leadership in Tulsa’s growing tech landscape.
Computer Science Education Week celebrates possibility. UCG students are learning how technology works and how to shape the city’s future. When we support computer science education, we strengthen Tulsa.
Tulsa’s future looks bright when we build it together.
Works Cited
Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Computer and Information Technology Occupations.” U.S. Department of Labor, 2024.
CSEdWeek. “About Computer Science Education Week.” CSedWeek.org, 2024.
ISC2. “Certified in Cybersecurity.” ISC2, 2024.
U.S. Department of Education. “Expanding Access to Computer Science Education.” 2023.
Colorado Department of Education. “Computer Science Education Week Overview.” 2024.
