Bartlesville High School Offering Cyber Security Classes This Fall

Bartlesville High School is one of a handful of schools nationwide to pilot a course that'll teach kids how to stay safe online. 

The curriculum for this class was created by a STEM-education group called Project Lead The Way.

They chose Bartlesville High School as one of nearly 100 schools in the nation to offer the cyber security course, with plans to expand the program in the future.

Cyber attacks are a major topic right now, from credit card data breaches to discussions about possible election-related hacking and that's why education leaders nationwide say students need to learn about cyber security.

Bartlesville Public Schools Superintendent Chuck McCauley says students will learn how the mind of a hacker works in hopes of finding ways to fend off online attacks.

"You have to learn about how hackers are able to, through programming flaws, how they're able to hack into different systems and so, that's part of the process to learn how that works," said Superintendent Chuck McCauley.

The cyber security class will be offered to high school juniors and seniors, but McCauley says even the youngest students are learning components of online safety.

"You'll look at kids now in a restaurant at the table; they're three or four years old paying with parents' smartphones. I mean, it's amazing what they can do now, so we're making sure that they're learning in a safe environment," he said.

The district said the course will also help STEM students compete in the job market.