Apple to turn Lane Tech into 'Center for Excellence' for training teachers on Swift

Apple on Wednesday announced a partnership with Chicago Public Schools and Northwestern University, which will establish a "Center for Excellence" at Lane Tech College Prep High School — the place where Apple held its Tuesday iPad event.

The school will operate as a "teaching and learning hub" for high school teachers picking up the company's Everyone Can Code curriculum, designed to introduce Swift programming, Apple said. Teachers will also be able to take the company's App Development with Swift course.

Northwestern professors will lead the training, while Apple will supply Macs, iPads, carts, and various accessories. As necessary, teachers will be able to get special coaching and mentorship.

"At Apple, we believe every student should have the opportunity to learn to code and we are thrilled to help provide new learning opportunities for Chicago-area teachers so they can bring coding into their classrooms," CEO Tim Cook said in a prepared statement.

Apple was already cooperating with Chicago institutions on expanding Everyone Can Code to almost 500,000 students in the city. The program begins by teaching coding fundamentals, then progresses towards complete Swift apps.

The Swift language is open-source, but created by Apple and largely used for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

On Tuesday the company made a series of education-themed announcements and launches, mostly notably refreshing its budget iPad with an A10 processor, Apple Pencil support, and a $299 pricetag for schools. Also revealed were things like iWork upgrades, new apps for classrooms, and an "Everyone Can Create" curriculum.