SAS® skills give high schoolers leg up in college, work force

SAS® programming pilot expands from award-winning Apex High School to nine other schools

In 10 high schools across the US, students can now graduate with highly marketable SAS programming skills. SAS, the leader in business intelligence and analytics, is expanding a SAS programming pilot project to offer high school students valuable analytical skills for college and beyond. Following a successful implementation at Apex High School in Apex, NC, the SAS Programming Pilot is expanding to nine additional high schools this fall. In January 2009, the program will be available to any high school in the US.

The successful SAS pilot contributed to Apex High School’s Academy of Information Technology winning a 2008 Aldo Papone Award from the National Academy Foundation, a national network of high school career academies, according to Academy Director Julie Oster.

“Including SAS Programming as a course in our academy has not only given our students an advantage in both post-secondary education and careers, but has also allowed us to offer an array of programming courses not usually seen at the high school level,” said Oster. “The SAS course was an important factor in our academy being recognized as a model academy in the NAF network.”

SAS skills are in high demand by companies, governments and organizations worldwide that use SAS to analyze huge amounts of data to make better decisions. SAS careers vary from entry-level programmers to executive positions requiring data warehousing, data mining and analytical expertise.

The biggest demand is currently in the pharmaceutical and financial services industries, which use SAS in research and development, marketing, fraud detection and clinical trials.

Students who graduate high school with SAS knowledge carry a distinct advantage into post-secondary education, where SAS is used in many college courses requiring quantitative analysis, such as psychology, statistics, mathematics, business, and public health.

SAS Programming will be taught this semester in Hoke County High School, Southern Vance High School, Northern Vance High School, the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, Philip J. Weaver Education Center, Cary High School and Jacksonville High School – all in North Carolina – as well as in Lincoln High School (Lincoln, AL) and Spruce Creek High School (Port Orange, FL).

“What we hope is that this SAS Programming course will help stimulate the desire for the students to further their careers in the STEM areas – science, technology, engineering and math,” said Jim Goodnight, CEO of SAS. “We know that graduates with these skills are poised for success in college and today’s globalized knowledge economy.”

Beginning in January, any high school in the US can offer SAS programming. Professional development for qualified teachers is available every summer at the five-day Institute for High School Educators at SAS world headquarters in Cary, NC.