Classes begin the third week of January at most branches in basic computer skills. Classes in word processing software and internet essentials begin the following week.

Sixty-eight percent of kids who say their schools offer computer science courses say they want to learn more about the topic, compared with 49 percent in schools that don’t offer the classes.

Student demand for computer science courses is outstripping the supply of professors, creating a student divide of computing haves and have-nots.