CS for All Means All Y’All

Right about now you should be thinking how great it is to be a K-12 CS educator.  If not, let me give you a few reasons.  How terrific it was to hear that President Donald Trump had re-purposed $200 million dollars at the US Department of Education to support STEM Education, including K-12 computer science education programs.  Women, minorities, and students in rural communities will particularly benefit from this presidential memorandum.  That’s exactly what we are talking about when we champion “CSforAll.”  And to sweeten the pot, a coalition of tech businesses including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Lockheed Martin, and many others agreed to give $300 million spread over the next five years to boost K-12 computer science programs.  So, it really is a great time to be a CS educator!

If you need more proof that it is a great time to be a CS educator, on October 16 and 17, over 170 organizations made new commitments to support CSforAll students.  These pledges were celebrated by a stakeholder community of educators and other supporters at the 2017 CSforAll Summit in St. Louis, Missouri.   You can view those commitments in this pdf Fact Sheet to see how many of our long-time friends and supporters are in the list and how many, many more you might not have known about.  CSTA made a commitment to continue to promote the new CSTA K-12 CS Standards broadly so that all states and school systems have rigorous models for their own standards and to work with 3-5 CSTA chapters to help them establish their CS program while developing state standards and supporting CS teachers.  Did you make a new commitment to support CSforAll students?  If not, why not do one now?  After all, it’s a great time to be a K-12 CS educator!

And, speaking of commitments, have you made a pledge for 2017 CS Education WeekCS Ed Week is December 4 – 10, 2017.  What a great time to champion CS education, celebrate Grace Hopper’s birthday (December 9), and introduce students to computer science.  It’s a great week for elementary/middle school educators to partner with high school students and educators to show the younger students how great CS is and to allow the older students to share their enthusiasm.  This year, CSTA is partnering with Family Code Night to encourage parents to join their children in coding at their local school—another great way to interest younger students in CS education.  Plan to participate in Family Code Night (or even better to help organize Family Code Night events in your community).  After all, it’s a great time to be a K-12 CS educator.  And, as we say in the south, All means All Y’all!

We know you are all doing spectacular work in your own schools, school systems, and CSTA chapters.  We look forward to reading about what you are doing to promote and bring CS education to all students.

Deborah Seehorn , CSTA Interim Executive Director