To attract girls and women to computer science and retain their interest in the field, Girls Who Code, a nonprofit organization dedicated to closing the gender gap in technology, said this week it is advocating for a policy agenda that includes expanded computer science classes, increased exposure to women and minorities in tech, and more professional development funding. […]

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on Wednesday voiced strong criticism of the Federal government’s spending to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States, saying that some of the Federal investment is duplicative and inefficient. 

MeriTalk compiles a weekly roundup of contracts and other industry activity. Here’s what happened this week in the Federal Information Technology community.

After President Donald Trump signed a computer science education memorandum on Sept. 25, IBM called for Congress to continue the push for better STEM education by renewing a bill to increase technical education standards.

President Donald Trump will sign a memorandum today to strengthen computer science education in schools, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced during a press briefing on Sept. 25. The memorandum will mandate that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provide $200 million per year in grants for science and technology education to strengthen STEM programs in schools, and to add computer science to the curriculum in K-12 schools.

Through its series of summer camps and competitions, the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot program is aiming to expand the cybersecurity workforce for both the public and private sector. “What they have learned is if they wait until someone is a college graduate, it’s too late, if they wait until they’re in college, it’s too late,” said CyberPatriot National Commissioner Bernie Skoch.

A New Jersey high school in September transformed a 20,000-square-foot auditorium known as “the pit” into the Marauder Innovation Learning Lab, a $3 million STEAM-focused extension of Mount Olive High School.

Some middle school teachers in Texas will be trained to teach computer science, under a new initiative announced by Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas.

The College Board is debuting the new Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles course this school year, which was designed to broaden participation in the study of computer science.

Samsung announced that 255 public schools have advanced as state finalists in its $2 Million Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest.