A Kentucky-based virtual academy just got the official green light from the Kentucky General Assembly to launch the first statewide program, with a heavy emphasis on teaching computer science to students in rural counties.
We Lead Computer Science KY Virtual Career Academy (We Lead CS) was awarded $3 million in state funding to run the program in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic school years.
We Lead CS offers dual college credit opportunities in computer science, both secondary and post-secondary, in all of Kentucky’s 120 counties.
Alicia Sells is one of the program’s founders and the director of innovation at the Ohio Valley Education Cooperative. She said negotiations are ongoing with rural Northern Kentucky districts to implement the program this fall. However, she’s not naming the districts or counties since the deals aren’t set in stone.
“We will focus significantly on counties along the river,” Sells told me. “We see the Tri-State region as a place for significant expansion.”
The program is completely free to those enrolled. Districts interested in implementing it can enter into a contract with We Lead CS and pay a $500-per-student fee, which covers a portion of the expenses used to teach that student. This is significantly cheaper for a district than hiring a computer science teacher, according to Sells.
A large portion of the state’s funding for the program will be spent on hiring educators. Sells said she hopes to hire six full-time people in time for this upcoming school year and an additional two for the next. Recruitment is now in full force.
Although this is technically now a statewide program, it hasn’t reached the level of widespread open enrollment just yet. In the 2024-25 school year, the program is limiting enrollment to 100 high school students. The following year, it will expand to 250 students, for a total of 350 students in the first two years.
As of right now there is no enrollment requirement, but demand for this type of education, especially in rural counties, is high, according to Sells. We Lead CS is working with each district to make sure enrolled students are a good fit. Once that is determined, the students will simply add the class to their daily schedule.
Sells said the overall goal is to get students ready for high-demand and high-paying careers in the tech industry.
“Last year, there were over 3,000 open computer science jobs – with an average salary of $70,000 – unfilled in Kentucky,” Sells said. “By bringing accessible computer science education to students outside the confines of the classroom, We Lead CS will help more Kentuckians build brighter futures and, at the same time, create a talent pipeline that Kentucky businesses desperately need.”
According to Sells, the average wage for all Kentucky jobs is about $39,000.
“It’s a massive opportunity for kids,” she previously told the Courier.
Through the program, students will also have the opportunity to network with people from some of the largest employers in the region thanks to a partnership with the Interalliance of Greater Cincinnati, a nonprofit dedicated to helping students explore career opportunities in the Tri-State.
Interalliance helped shape the curriculum with input from 70 employers, including 84.51, Fifth Third Bank, Cincinnati Reds, GE Aerospace, Great American Insurance and Procter & Gamble.
The Courier reported in December of the program’s intentions. The allocation of the $3 million seals the deal. Essentially, lawmakers promised to provide the funding and now they’ve followed through with on that.
“If it wasn’t for the funding, there would be no program,” Sells said.
According to a news release, the funding effort in the last legislative session was lead by Kentucky House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect, and Sen. President Pro Tempore David Givens, R-Greensburg.
“Education has and will continue to be an area we focus on, and I’m extremely pleased we were able to include funding for this incredible program," Osborne said. “I look forward to seeing how it is used to strengthen the innovative learning opportunity.”
Givens said he's noticed a large gap between students hungry for IT education and the actual curriculum available.
"We Lead CS will connect the dots," Givens said.
We Lead CS is based off of a two-year pilot program at iLead Academy in Carrollton, Ky., which is located between Louisville and Cincinnati. It was one of five schools across the United States selected by the U.S. Department of Education with the most innovative ideas for how to create a virtual career academy for computer science.
In 2023, Kentucky passed legislation that essentially took the school’s curriculum and implemented it into a new, larger academy with the help of Interalliance experts.
