Amazon will fund computer science classes in more than 130 New York City high schools, and in five high schools in Augusta County, Va.
The company said Tuesday that it will fund introductory and Advanced Placement (AP) classes at schools in all five New York City boroughs, TechCrunch reported. It announced similar plans in Augusta County.
The programs in both states will be funded as part of the Amazon Future Engineer initiative, described as a “childhood-to-career program” that will aim to bring computer science education and training to low-income communities.
More than 15 high schools in Virginia currently use the Amazon Future Engineer program, which Amazon told Coins2Day it hopes to expand to other schools in the country. Hundreds of high schools are currently signed up for the program, according to the company.
Amazon announced last year its plans to split its new HQ2 headquarters between New York City and Crystal City, Va., which was met with backlash from lawmakers and activists in both states. For months before the HQ2 announcement, community organizers mobilized in New York and D.C. Against the company expanding in either location.
Workers are still fighting HQ2. On Monday, two New York labor unions demanded that Gov. Andrew Cuomo put the deal on hold, pointing to Amazon’s “deadly and dehumanizing working conditions” and its “anti-worker” history, the New York Daily News reported.
Amazon’s computer science programs will provide preparatory lessons, tutorials, and professional development for teachers, TechCrunch reported. Participating students will also receive a free membership to Amazon Web Services’ Educate program, which offers free computing resources and services in the cloud.