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By JOYANNA LOVE/ Managing Editor

A new class in cyber security will be available to Chiton County Schools seniors starting next school year.

The class will be offered through the STEM Academy at LeCroy Career Technical Center.

Instructor Jay LeCroy said students who are interested in taking the course need to talk to their school counselor before the end of May to apply for the class because space in the class is limited.

Plans for the class began earlier this school year.

“There is a huge job market opening up for people in cybersecurity along with computer science and engineering,” LeCroy said.

The course takes a broad look at cyber security issues and good online practices.

LeCroy said in meetings with the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army, cyber security specialist was mentioned as a top need.

“Number one what they are looking for is someone in cybersecurity to handle threats that are coming from outside this country,” LeCroy said. “Cyber security threats are a huge issue right now.”

LCTC director Dr. Shannon Walker said the school administration was “very excited” to be offering the new course.

The importance of this field is only expected to grow as threats of theft to personal and other important information stored electronically on the cloud continue to increase.

“There is a huge need in this country for cyber security experts,” LeCroy said.

The course was developed by Project Lead the Way, an engineering program that has been used in other CCS schools. LeCroy will be attending training for the course this summer.

The course will be a year long.

Since this course is new, it is open to all CCS seniors for next year, not just those already enrolled in the STEM Academy.

“It’s an exciting new field,” LeCroy said. “… Companies are paying people high salaries to come in and protect all of their information … It is something that is needed across all industries.”

Certification options that might be available are being researched for future classes.

LeCroy said a certification for this through the state has not been approved yet.

Those who work in this field for private companies and the military are being scheduled as guest speakers for the class. Field trips to cyber security companies may also be a possibility.

LeCroy said there are a lot of cyber security college programs being offered now, so the LCTC class would give a student a chance to explore if this is something they would want to pursue further.

Additional opportunities available through the STEM Academy include robotics, computer science and engineering classes.