$300,000 grant sparks reboot of Saint Vincent computer science efforts

Westmoreland County is about to become more computer science-friendly.

Saint Vincent College has received about $317,000 in state grant money to build a computer science ecosystem in the county.

Over the next few months, the Unity college will develop a plan to make computer science more accessible for students and teachers. Though the ecosystem will be based in Westmoreland County, it also will impact Fayette and Somerset counties and the Philadelphia area.

Brother Norman Hipps, mathematics professor at Saint Vincent, envisions a system that will prepare students for the job market and higher education. Whether students choose to pursue a career related to computer science or not, the field will benefit them, he said.

“It has a great value simply in helping young people to think and to problem solve with the kind of logic that sadly is not quite as strong as I think it should be in many schools,” Hipps said.

Research backs Hipps’ claim. According to multiple studies, computer science education increases college enrollment, problem-solving abilities and likelihood of employment.

Hipps expects to build connections and partnerships between school districts, Saint Vincent College, Carnegie Mellon’s Computer Science Academy, Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board and Economic Growth Connection.

There will be three components, he said.

First, it will expand access and opportunities through targeted outreach. This will be attained, in part, by sponsoring a computer science camp for middle school girls. During the camp, girls will build worlds and tell stories through programming.

“Women are terribly underrepresented in the field of computing, and we think it’s important to start (in the field) young,” Hipps said.

Saint Vincent also will continue to host a math, science and technology camp for middle schoolers from the Philly area, and the college will begin offering the camp to high schoolers, as well.

The second component focuses on educators. Right now, there are limited collaboration opportunities for computer science teachers from different school districts, Hipps said.

Meeting dates will be planned for the summer and Saturdays for local teachers who were trained by the Carnegie Mellon Computer Science Academy. Carnegie Mellon trainees will be invited to collaborate.

Finally, there will be a dual enrollment cybersecurity class that students could take in high school or at Saint Vincent.

Wendy Lint, a computer science teacher at Greater Latrobe Senior High School, envisions an opportunity to give Westmoreland students a “one up” when they are pursuing any profession.

“I can’t even think of one major in college that wouldn’t benefit from kids taking a basic programming class,” she said.

Plans for the project have been in the works since last summer. In June, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office announced that Saint Vincent was one of 42 educational institutions to receive a total of $20 million in PAsmart Advancing Grants for STEM and computer science programs.