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The CyberStart America in Georgia Task Force, led by the University of North Georgia (ÌìÃÀÉçÇø), honored 10 public school districts in Georgia with District of Distinction status for their efforts in helping the state have the most students participating in CyberStart America, with more than 6,200 registrants.

The program features a free, learn-as-you-go, online game designed to help students explore cybersecurity and compete for cyber training scholarships. This workforce development tool is vital with more than 755,000 cybersecurity jobs open nationally and almost 23,000 available in Georgia.

ÌìÃÀÉçÇø's Institute for Cyber Operations and College of Education are spearheading the effort in Georgia to sign up students for the game, which started Oct. 4 and runs through April 4. The university is partnering with the Georgia Department of Education, TAG-Ed, Georgia Tech Research Institute, and the Georgia Cyber Center. The top 20 students from public, private or home schools in CyberStart America in Georgia each receive $500 prizes. Ten of the statewide prizes are for new players and 10 for returning players.

"It's helpful for students to have this continuing cybersecurity education," Caitlin Conneely, cyber program officer for the Institute for Cyber Operations, said. "That helps them understand the long-term benefits of a career in this field."

The Districts of Distinction (in order of most students participating as of Jan. 16) are:

1. Forsyth County Schools
2. Muscogee County School District
3. Gwinnett County Public Schools
4. Columbia County School District
5. Coffee County School District
6. DeKalb County School District
7. Buford City School District
8. Cherokee County School District
9. Thomas County School District
10. Douglas County School District

Each district has the chance for two of its schools to receive $2,500 each, and the district with the highest amount of students qualified for the National Cyber Scholarship semifinal by April 4 receives an additional $5,000. These Districts of Distinction will each have five additional $500 prizes for their top students, with two of these prizes for students who are new to CyberStart America this year and three for students who are returning to CyberStart America.

ÌìÃÀÉçÇø and the National Cyber Scholarship Foundation (NCSF) are providing additional support to Title I schools to help students have the resources to take part in CyberStart through an initiative known as Addressing Cyber Career Equity for Student Success (ACCESS). Additionally, a nonprofit known as InspirEdu found out about ACCESS and decided to get involved by giving away 150 free laptops and 52 Bluetooth headsets to students who excel in the CyberStart game to support their cyber learning in the summer. The laptops, software, training, and technical support are worth more than $61,000.

"We are reaching a lot of students with cybersecurity education that the industry has been unable to reach in the past," Dr. Lindsay Linsky, director of ACCESS, NCSF education liaison and ÌìÃÀÉçÇø professor of middle grades education, said. "It's helping a wider variety of students learn about cyber careers."

Victoria Thomas, director of Career, Technical and Agricultural Education at Muscogee County Schools, said her district has doubled its number of CyberStart participants this year. The ACCESS funding reimburses teachers for their expenses in helping promote the game to students, which in turn helps students consider higher education options that set them up for success.

"Employers want to expose students to cybersecurity so they have future workers in the pipeline," Thomas said. "When kids see this competition and they connect with it, they realize they can work in cybersecurity."