Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, and Discovery Education, the leading provider of digital education content and professional development for K-12 classrooms, today announced the metro Atlanta launch of their Ignite My Future in School initiative. Teachers from over 20 area school districts will experience the program's Day of Discovery at Newnan High School in Newnan, GA. This professional training event connects local educators with Discovery Education field experts to learn about Ignite My Future in School, understand its purpose and receive hands-on training with the curriculum.

The initiative offers educators sustained curriculum support through instructional resources and year-round assistance ensuring computational thinking is embedded into core subjects such as math, sciences, arts, and social studies. This interdisciplinary approach enables students to obtain critical thinking skills that will be required for 21^st century careers across all industries.

Ignite My Future in School will help ensure that Atlanta school systems can maintain a strong talent pipeline and inspire students to enroll at one of the region's 66 colleges and universities. Moreover, twenty-one Georgia based companies were recently named to the 2018 Fortune 500; most headquartered in Atlanta, and requiring future employees with robust computational thinking skills.

"Our teachers are educating our young people for today and preparing them with the skills needed for lifelong learning," said U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., a member of the Senate committee that oversees education. "Thank you to the teachers participating in this program developed by Tata Consultancy Services and Discovery Education. You and your students will benefit from this opportunity as we equip our students with the skills they need to make a positive impact in their communities in the future."

"Unlocking the minds of our amazing students is the key element to their future success", said U.S. Congressman John Lewis, D-Ga., a member of the Congressional STEM Education Caucus. "The resources and educational development that Tata Consultancy Services and Discovery Education will provide to some educators of the 5thCongressional District will be an invaluable new method of reaching our students and preparing them for the STEM careers presently available and the careers of the future. I applaud the initiative for engaging teachers, administrators and school districts for they are the front line when attempting to reach and motivate our youth."

"Industry can play a pivotal providing context and relevance to help educators and students realize how the skills they learn in school translates to the world of work. Through Ignite My Future in School we are empowering school systems to foster foundational skills, building capacity for teaching, and cultivating future ready talent in in communities across the United States, which is key as we move into a Business 4.0 era of cross-industry digital transformation and rapid economic change," said Balaji Ganapathy, Head of Workforce Effectiveness, TCS.

TCS and Discovery Education have also launched the digital platform, IgniteMyFutureInSchool.org providing teachers nationwide with an exclusive, cost-free, virtual professional development experience that includes lesson plans, curriculum resources, eLearning courses, and webinars. These resources are aligned to national standards, as well as the K-12 Computer Science Framework.

On a national level, Ignite My Future in School has a goal of engaging 20,000 teachers and one million U.S. students by 2021. As a first step towards this objective, TCS and Discovery Education has partnered with U.S. school districts in the D.C area, Georgia, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin as early adopters and launch sites of this transdisciplinary approach. Since its debut, the program has engaged educators from every state, over 3,300 in total, while impacting more than 185,000 students.