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The media center of East Millbrook Magnet Middle School became a STEM laboratory Tuesday morning as students showed off their programming skills – and had a little fun – with State Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt.
Truitt and Wake County Public School System Superintendent Dr. Robert P. Taylor were there to celebrate the district’s month-long Hour of Code, which comes on the heels of national Computer Science Education Week.
Students participated in coding-based design challenges that ranged from the practical – programming a robot to move from one precise location to another – to purely for fun – coding a device to play tic-tac-toe.
Through it all, they gained hands-on experience with skills that are relevant to one of the top five fastest-growing job sectors in the state.
“Getting North Carolina students involved in and excited about coding, computer science and math early in their educational journey is essential in preparing them to be competitive in 21st century careers,” Truitt said. “Events like the Hour of Code help students explore, engage and experience this ever-growing field. With recent passage of the computer science graduation requirement, events like what I saw today reinforce the importance of students gaining first-hand experience in the computer science, IT and technology education disciplines.”
 More students across the state will soon have access to computer science with the passage of House Bill 8, which adds computer science to the Standard Course of Study for all students entering high school in the 2026-27 school year. This initiative, championed by Truitt and the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI), will allow for schools to choose to add it as early as 2024-25. Through this law, computer science will be added to the English, math, arts, science and social studies requirements for high school graduation in North Carolina.
Hour of Code events have become a cornerstone of computer science education in Wake County. In addition to introducing students to coding basics, this year's event places a special emphasis on design thinking principles. Design thinking is rooted in finding solutions to real-world problems by empathizing with the user of the product, creating and testing prototypes and generating creative ideas.
In one activity, students were tasked with drawing a photo of their choice by programming a device with a built-in marker. On the first try, most students erred, making the image too big so that it ran off the page or drawing it in one corner instead of the middle of the page.
That’s all part of the process, Truitt said.
“Equally as important as a student’s ability to learn the technical pieces of computer science is their ability to be adaptable and use critical thinking to find new approaches,” she said. “By developing those durable skills early in their education, students will be prepared to become innovators in the quickly evolving world of technology.”
In recognition of the importance of durable skills, Truitt and her team at NCDPI launched the Portrait of a Graduate initiative in fall 2022. The Portrait identifies seven durable skills that students need to succeed in life post-high school graduation, including adaptability, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, empathy, learner’s mindset and personal responsibility.
A set of rubrics for these skills is available on the NCDPI website. Work on this project continues as task force members launch and test performance tasks related to the durable skills in classrooms this spring.
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