SILVER SPRING, Md. and
NEW YORK, Nov. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tata
Consultancy Services, (TCS), (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS) a leading
global IT services, consulting and business solutions organization,
and Discovery Education, the premier provider of digital education
content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, have
announced the continuation of their Ignite My Future in
School program in the Washington
D.C. metropolitan area. Teachers will receive professional
development, educational resources and year-round support to
integrate computational thinking into core subjects such as math,
sciences, arts, and social studies. In turn, students will be
exposed to foundational skills for 21st century careers
– across industries – through this transdisciplinary approach.
"Creating pathways for teachers to gain relevant skills is
essential to ensuring the success of students and the future of the
nation," said Balaji Ganapathy,
Head of Workforce Effectiveness, TCS. "I applaud these
districts for being forward-thinking and committed to integrating
computer science into core subjects. We are excited to provide
instructors from all communities, rural, suburban and city with
opportunities to succeed and create curriculums that are
contextually aligned with the needs of industries in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia."
Educators from District of
Columbia Public Schools, Maryland's Anne
Arundel County, Kent County
and Prince George's County, as
well as Virginia's Loudoun County and Arlington Public Schools will experience
immersive computational thinking training. The participating
districts are diverse; from urban Washington D.C., to suburban Anne Arundel County and rural Kent County. Nonetheless, the school systems
share a common interest of providing their employees with the
necessary tools to teach students how to thrive in a tech savvy
world. Approximately 100 teachers from 46 schools will participate
in Day of Discovery at Discovery Headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland. The program is
estimated to impact 8,000 students across the districts.
"Today's Day of Discovery will bring together K-12 educators
from every level to reimagine how
they can use computational thinking to help students develop the
foundational skills needed for 21st century
careers," said Lori
McFarling, senior vice-president and chief marketing
officer, Discovery Education. "We are proud to be partnering
with Tata Consultancy Services on this exciting event, and look
forward to continue building on the tremendous momentum
the Ignite My Future in School initiative is
creating nationwide."
Leading businesses from across sectors, including technology and
telecommunication, form a major presence employing thousands of
residents in and around Washington
D.C. Yet, Maryland,
Virginia and Washington D.C still have thousands of open
computing jobs – in fact, 4.3 times the demand rate for the region.
Maryland has over 18,000 open
computing jobs, while the state produced less than 3,000 graduates
this past year. Virginia's
disparity is more drastic, with over 32,000 available computing
jobs, but less than 1,600 computer science
graduates. Ignite My Future in School hopes to bridge
the gap by developing relevant skills for 21st century
job opportunities in the new digital economy, including Artificial
Intelligence, machine learning and the Internet of Things
(IoT).
On a National level, Ignite My Future in School has a
goal of engaging 20,000 teachers and one million U.S. students by
2021. As a first step towards this goal, TCS and Discovery
Education announced that 10 U.S. school systems across the
country – with more than 6,700 teachers and 194,000 students –
joined the effort as early adopters of this transdisciplinary
approach in a five-year educator training and learning commitment
to empower middle school teachers.
These select schools will experience the unique opportunity to
learn and apply computational thinking through an annual free day
of professional development for educators and community night for
parents. TCS and Discovery Education have also launched an online
program, TECHademy, which will engage teachers
nationwide in an exclusive, cost-free, virtual professional
development experience that includes curriculum resources,
eLearning courses, webinars and more. These resources are aligned
to national standards, as well as the recently launched K-12
Computer Science Framework.
Ignite My Future in School builds on
TCS' robust community initiatives that have inspired more than two
million young people in STEM education and careers. TCS is a
founding partner for two national mentoring initiatives in
the United States, US2020 and
Million Women Mentors. Its flagship student engagement program, TCS
goIT, has engaged more than 12,000 middle and high school students
across 56 cities in the United
States and Canada with
hands-on experiences in computer science, inspiring them towards
tech careers in all sectors. Moreover, TCS is part of the CSforAll
Consortium and has national partnerships with NCWIT, NPower, the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, CECP, National 4H Council,
Boys Scouts of America, and Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
About Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS)
Tata Consultancy Services is an IT services, consulting and
business solutions organization that delivers real results to
global business, ensuring a level of certainty no other firm can
match. TCS offers a consulting-led, integrated portfolio of IT,
BPS, infrastructure, engineering and assurance services. This is
delivered through its unique Global Network Delivery Model™,
recognized as the benchmark of excellence in software development.
A part of the Tata group, India's
largest industrial conglomerate, TCS has over 389,000 of the
world's best-trained consultants in 46 countries. The company
generated consolidated revenues of U.S. $17.6 billion for year ended March 31, 2017 and is listed on the BSE Limited
and National Stock Exchange of India Limited. For more information,
visit us at www.tcs.com. To stay up-to-date on TCS news in
North America,
follow @TCS_NA. For TCS global news,
follow @TCS_News.
About Discovery Education
Discovery Education is the global leader in standards-based
digital content for K-12, transforming teaching and learning with
award-winning digital textbooks, multimedia content, professional
development, and the largest professional learning community of its
kind. Serving 4.5 million educators and over 50 million students,
Discovery Education's services are in half of U.S. classrooms, 50
percent of all primary schools in the UK, and more than 50
countries. Discovery Education partners with districts, states, and
like-minded organizations to captivate students, empower teachers,
and transform classrooms with customized solutions that increase
academic achievement. Discovery Education is powered by Discovery
Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the number one
nonfiction media company in the world. Explore the future of
education at DiscoveryEducation.com. Stay connected with
Discovery Education on social media through Facebook, follow
us on Twitter at @DiscoveryEd, or find us
on Instagram and Pinterest.
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SOURCE Tata Consultancy Services