It’s no secret our young people should be learning things in today’s classrooms that were unimaginable a few decades ago. Science, technology, engineering and math have been pushed across the country as important subjects. Yet some states are doing a better job than others. In West Virginia, a study by CodeWizardsHQ using data from Advocacy Coalition shows 74% rural access to computer science courses, 76% of high schools offering computer science courses, 30% female enrollment and 92% minority student access.

That places West Virginia 7th in the country for enrollment and access to computer science courses. Ohio is ranked 45th.

Here in the Buckeye State, rural access is an abysmal 48%, only 50% of high schools offer computer science courses, female enrollment is at 31%, and minority student access is 62%.

“It is widely acknowledged that learning computer science should be a fundamental part of a child’s education, as it is increasingly valued in the workforce. … Not having a fundamental understanding of these core subjects risks leaving many young people behind, and so it is important all children have equal opportunities in this field” says Jey Iyempandi, CodeWizardsHQ founder.

It seems as though Ohio students are, indeed, at risk of being left behind.

That needs to change if we’re going to serve the needs of corporations such as Intel, Olive or Path Robotics.

Education officials must be quicker to switch gears as the education needs of our students evolve. We simply do not have a choice.