Melinda Miller is one of 300 teachers from around the nation learning to deliver what they believe every child should have in the classroom — equality. “Computer science was something that my principal wanted to offer,” Miller said. “I serve predominantly African-American and Hispanic students and it’s a great need. Our students don’t have a lot of options.” Miller teaches in Dallas. But, she was given a free trip to […]

In January 2016, ECS team member Jane Margolis was recognized by the White House as a Computer Science Education Champion of Change.   See the article from Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls   THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 21, 2016 White House to Recognize Computer Science Education “Champions of Change” “In the coming years, we should build on that progress, by providing Pre-K for […]

In this article, Leslie Aaronson, a standout ECS teacher at Foshay, is misassigned but already procured new credentials not once, but twice! By Samuel Gilstrap, published Dec 9, 2015 on LAUSD Daily. Seniors from the Technology Academy at Foshay Learning Center proudly showcased projects responding to a challenge to use technology to solve important challenges facing their community. The annual Foshay Technology Fair helped promote the District’s participation in the […]

Nancy Se, ECS teacher at Augustus Hawkins High School, is featured in this article in LA School Report. By Mike Szymanski, published Nov. 24, 2015 on LA School Report. At a high school called the Critical Design and Gaming School, you’d think every student had a device on and was playing a game all the time. Not so. In fact, during one recent morning lesson, students opened up boxes of […]

Chicago Is Making Coding Education Mandatory. Is That a Good Idea? A school computer science program developer explains the pros and cons. By Scott Shackford, published Nov. 18, 2015 on Reason.com. “Just make it a requirement.” That’s what Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the government should do to make education in computer coding and programming available to public school students. … Should we bristle at the idea of yet another […]

LAUSD plans to expand computer science to every grade by 2020. Posted by Mike Szymanski on November 4, 2015, on LA School Report. At a time of high employment demand for computer experts, fewer than half of LA Unified’s 98 traditional high schools offer computer science classes. “We could have students go through LAUSD without any access to computer science at all,” Suyen Moncada-Machado, a district instructional specialist told a […]

Equity in computer science education vital for California. By Julie Flapan, published Oct. 15, 2015 in The San Diego Union-Tribune. I learned an unexpected lesson about education reform while watching my kids compete to build the tallest LEGO tower. My youngest stacks one LEGO on top of the next, making it the tallest – for a split second – before it tumbles to the ground. My older child, having experienced […]

Changing the Face of Computing – One Stitch at a Time. MIT Press Blog, Oct. 14, 2015. In honor of Ada Lovelace Day, an international celebration of the achievements of women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), Yasmin Kafai and Jane Margolis, reflect on the legacy of the British mathematician, who is famously regarded as the first female computer programmer. As we celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, we should be […]

The rules and regulations about who can and can’t teach computer science education in California can be very confusing. In an effort to simplify the issues and to identify our goals, ACCESS (Alliance for California Computing Education for Students and Schools) prepared an infographic, Teaching Computer Science: Meeting the Demand in CA, which can be found here as interactive slides.

Press Release Exploring Computer Science has been awarded program status with the University of California Office of the President, making the high school course easy to adopt as a “G” elective by high schools throughout California. Program Status allows approved educational programs to be added to a school’s “a-g” course list without schools having to prepare a full course submission to UC for review. UC encourages schools, districts, and school […]