WE LEAD CS INC

WELEADCS BEGAN STATEWIDE OPERATION ON JULY 1, 2024 WITH A $3 MILLION APPROPRIATION FROM THE KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN THE 2024 GENERAL SESSION AND A DIRECTIVE FROM THE STATE LEGISLATURE TO SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND KENTUCKY'S CAPACITY TO EDUCATE AND PREPARE STUDENTS FOR THE TECH WORKFORCE AND, IN TURN, INCREASE THE COMMONWEALTH'S COMPETITIVENESS IN THE TECH ECONOMY. AND SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND KENTUCKY'S CAPACITY TO EDUCATE AND PREPARE HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FOR THE TECH WORKFORCE. ENROLLING STUDENTS IN WE LEAD CS COMPUTER SCIENCE COURSES WE BEGAN BY COMMUNICATING WITH KENTUCKY PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT WE LEAD CS WAS OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES TO ENROLL STUDENTS IN A DUAL COLLEGE CREDIT COMPUTER PROGRAMMING CAREER PATHWAY. WE HAD 15 STUDENTS FROM A REGIONAL CAREER ACADEMY WHO WERE ENROLLED IN OUR PILOT PROGRAM WHO TRANSITIONED INTO THE PROGRAM, AND FOUR ADDITIONAL DISTRICTS SIGNED CONTRACTS WITH WELEADCS FOR THE 2024-2025 SCHOOL YEAR TO TEACH THEIR STUDENTS. IN 2024-2025, WE HAD 68 STUDENTS FROM FIVE SCHOOL DISTRICTS. WE LAUNCHED A STATEWIDE COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN IN THAT YEAR AND IN THE 2025-2025 SCHOOL YEAR ENROLLED 220 STUDENTS FROM 23 SCHOOL DISTRICTS A 420% INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS SERVED IN JUST ONE YEAR. STUDENT SUCCESS WELEADCS IS REQUIRED TO REPORT SEVERAL MEASURES OF STUDENT SUCCESS IN KRS 158.809, WHICH IS THE LEGISLATION THE KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY PASSED IN 2022 TO ESTABLISH THE PROGRAM. IN 2024-2025: 26 OF OUR 68 STUDENTS EARNED INDUSTRY CERTIFICATIONS PRIORITIZED BY KENTUCKY EMPLOYERS HIRING TECH TALENT, INCLUDING IC3 DIGITAL LITERACY, JAVA PROGRAMMING, PYTHON PROGRAMMING, WEB DEVELOPMENT, AND DIGITAL DESIGN. 59 OF OUR 68 STUDENTS TOOK AT LEAST ONE DUAL COLLEGE CREDIT COURSE AND EARNED 190 HOURS OF COLLEGE CREDIT. THE 15 STUDENTS WHO TRANSITIONED INTO THE STATEWIDE WELEADCS PROGRAM FROM OUR PILOT TOOK AN END-OF-PROGRAM EXAM HAVING HAD TWO OR MORE YEARS OF COURSES IN THE COMPUTER PROGRAMMING PATHWAY. WE HAD AN 87% PASS RATE AMONG STUDENTS TESTED. TEACHER SUPPORT IN THE 2025 GENERAL SESSION, THE KENTUCKY GENERAL ASSEMBLY PASSED LEGISLATION MAKING WELEADCS AN EMPLOYER IN THE KENTUCKY TEACHER RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND KENTUCKY EMPLOYEE HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN SO WELEADCS CAN OFFER OUR STAFF THE SAME BENEFITS THEY COULD RECEIVE IN A SCHOOL DISTRICT. THIS WAS AN ESSENTIAL STEP TO HELP WELEADCS RECRUIT FACULTY MEMBERS TO SUSTAIN OUR GROWTH.