Education has long been one of U.S. Senator Patty Murray‘s passions, as detailed on her official website – before her 24 years in the U.S. Senate, she was a preschool teacher, school-board member, and PTA president. Today, she visited Chief Sealth International High School to get a firsthand look at a tech-education program that is getting new support from education legislation she co-authored, the Every Student Succeeds Act.

The program, Technology Education and Literacy in School (TEALS), teaches computer science, with community partnership; we mentioned it a year and a half ago during a search for volunteers to help get it going at Sealth, where it’s in its second year.

(From left with Sen. Murray, Sealth teacher John Wright and principal Aida Fraser-Hammer)

Sen. Murray said she was pleased to see so many young women – about half the students – in the class. TEALS was founded by Microsoft employee Kevin Wang, who was there too (at left in photo below); his business card includes the title “Ringleader.”

P.S. In another Sealth classroom this morning, students were voting in a mock election – we checked that out too while at CSIHS and will publish that story later today.