A Year of CS Action
In concert with Computer Science Education Week, the White House has released the Fact Sheet: A Year of Action Supporting Computer Science for All. It highlights the past year’s momentum in developing new CS curriculum, expanding the access of that curriculum to more students across the nation, and the groundswell of advocacy and policy to support these efforts. This fact sheet also details the new actions to expand broader support of Computer Science for All and STEM learning opportunities. I’d encourage you to give it a read in to be aware of the efforts in your region or nationally that you can take advantage of. Here are just a few initiatives that you should acquaint yourselves with:
- National Science Foundation (NSF) will invest $20 million in FY 2017 to an initiative called Computer Science for All: Researcher Practitioner Partnerships program to provide K-8 teachers with the preparation to integrate computer science and computational thinking into their classrooms.
- U.S. Department of Education's (ED) 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) is expanding to reach students at more than 200 sites across 25 states to provide access to high-quality, hands-on, inquiry-based STEM activities and to enhance college and career readiness.
All this momentum is crucial in preparing our students for the workforce of the future. Teaching students to code and to gain computational thinking skills are critical, but to be really inspired to pursue CS, students also need to understand CS career paths. Couragion gives you an easy way to let students see CS careers firsthand. We work with schools to integrate career exploration directly into Computer Science classrooms. You can hear from Nick Arvidson – one of Couragion’s partners – about how it works!
2016 certainly has been a year of action for Couragion. Happy Computer Science Education Week to you!