State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-18th, recently announced that $210,000 in grants through the PAsmart Initiative were awarded to six school districts in her senatorial district to expand computer science programs.

“I am pleased that school districts in my district took advantage of this important computer science funding to improve STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) training in our local schools,” Boscola said. “We have made STEM training a priority in the commonwealth so that our students are educated to meet the demands of the 21st-century economy. These grants will assist in those efforts,” she added.

Each school district received a $35,000 grant allocation:

• Catasauqua Area School District

• Northampton Area School District

• East Penn School District

• Salisbury Township School District

• Saucon Valley School District

• Easton Area School District

Statewide, 221 school districts, two career and technical centers, 18 charter and cyber charter schools and eight intermediate units were awarded $35,000 in funding. The PAsmart Initiative will be awarding additional grants in the near future for science and technology education, apprenticeships and job training.

The PAsmart Initiative is a statewide program to aid commonwealth schools in meeting the workforce demands of our economy, one in which, over the next decade, seven out of 10 new jobs will require the use of a computer. By 2026, an estimated 300,000 STEM jobs will be available.