Sandy Sansing at his Nissan car dealership in Pensacola, on February 6, 2015. Michael Spooneybarger/ Studer Community Institute

Who can give a child the tools she’ll need for a smoother path from school to the working world?

Sandy Sansing can.

The Pensacola businessman and longtime education supporter is giving the Escambia School District $100,000 over two years to boost computer science instruction in the district.

While others may be satisfied focusing on what's wrong, Sansing invested in what will make Pensacola better.

Not only because he is a nice guy, but also because as a business owner he sees the value of investing in developing a workforce that is prepared for the future.

“Every local student should have a chance to learn about computer science and technology,” Sansing said. “By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st century career."

Maybe some of them could fill the 1,092 jobs expected to be created in information technology jobs in the next five years, according to last year’s gap analysis of the Pensacola workforce. Download a copy here.

That study found the area’s education and training system won’t produce enough computer engineers, or technicians who can repair, maintain or design computer systems to meet the demand.

Those unfilled jobs are money we’re leaving on the table.

The Sansing donation was announced at Booker T. Washington High School during an Hour of Code event. Hour of Code is a movement to encourage familiarity with computer languages.

The Pensacola MESS Hall also sponsors Hour of Code events, and the University of West Florida’s Innovation Institute sponsors similar efforts.

Maybe, too, the Sansing investment is a sign that more Pensacola leaders see the link between investing in students and building a better workforce with more of the skills to pay the bills.

One Florida lawmaker — and former Yahoo executive — proposed a bill that would allow coding classes to fill the foreign language requirement for high school students.

Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, said the measure if approved would give an advantage in the work-world, according to the News Service of Florida.

"We're not replacing foreign language,'' Ring told members of the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee. "We're saying computer language should be in the language initiatives, in the language disciplines."

We cannot fear HTML and JavaScript.

We must embrace the 1’s and 0’s in the classroom with the same level of enthusiasm we embrace the X’s and O’s for Friday Night Football.

Because mastery of only one of those increases the tax base, helps businesses grow and helps communities become better places to live.