The Bellevue School District and partner Seattle Public Schools won a $256,000 state grant this week that will ramp up computer science education and help reach historically underrepresented groups of students.

“We are very excited about the computer science grant because it will provide support to help each and every student in the Bellevue School District as we strive to prepare them as innovators and problem solvers in the world of tomorrow,” says Dr. Tim Mills, Bellevue School District Superintendent.

Over the course of the 18-month project, the districts will significantly ramp up the reach of computer science education from 5,100 currently served, up to more than 13,000 students in the districts combined.

“It’s not necessarily just about preparing these kids for careers at Microsoft or Amazon. Regardless of the field, computational skills will be an essential skill set in the future,” said Eric Ferguson, director of instructional technology for the Bellevue School District.

Starting earlier is also key to making computer science more equitable among students, he added.

While the fact that all Bellevue high schools offer Advanced Placement Computer Science is above the state average — only six to seven percent of Washington high schools offer the course — the demographics of enrolled students are not representative of the student body.

In Bellevue, only four percent of the students in AP Computer Science are black or hispanic, despite the fact that those students make up 14 percent of enrolled students. Females only make up 28 percent of computer science enrollment, but make up 50 percent of the student body as well as the students enrolled in science or math courses.

“I think it would be surprising to many to learn that less than a 1/3 of the students enrolled are female,” said Greg Bianchi, curriculum developer for the district.

Bellevue will work with Seattle on the two-phase project, titled “Equitable Advancement of Computer Science Education.” They will collaborate on professional development for teachers and developing computer science related coursework that can be integrated into all subject matters.

The district already launched its K-12 Computer Science pilot program with funding from the Bellevue School Foundation this school year.

That initiative includes computer science lessons in science and mathematics courses that all students take, as well as additional computer science electives for older students. It is expected to be scaled up to all grade levels over the next three years.

The grant was awarded by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction in collaboration with Washington STEM. The state Legislature allocated funding for this grant program to provide $1 million for 2015-16 and $1 million for 2016-17.