Chicago’s public schools are breaking new ground by adding computer science to the core curriculum from kindergarten through senior year. The program, announced early this week, is a partnership with Code.org, the group behind the “Hour of Code,” which will be providing free teacher training and curriculum resources to Chicago’s teachers. Hopefully other cities will take the hint.

Obama and Code.org have taken some flak for suggesting that every child needs to learn to code. But while it’s true that not every child is a programmer-in-training, Americans could still deal with a good deal more computer literacy than they have now. Schools need to start thinking seriously about how to integrate computer eduction into their curricula. It’s becoming a more important skill than ever before.