by Art Lopez, 9 – 12 representative, CSTA Board of Directors

In writing this blog post, I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you, our members, the impact that Dr. Jan Cuny has had on our children, our communities, our country and on computer science education. I do not know if you know or heard about Dr. Jan Cuny; Jan is the Program Director for Computing Education in the in the Division of Computer and Network Systems for the National Science Foundation and, in my opinion, why computer science education has progressed so far forward for the past several years.

I first met Jan in Washington, D.C. in an event sponsored by the NSF and the White House Office and Science Technology in 2014 on recognizing the top 100 CS educators in the country. Jan informed us of the importance of providing computer science education in public education for ALL of our children, the broadening of participation of underserved and underrepresented groups in computer science (women, ethnically diverse, and learning differences), and equity access. Jan was incredibly inspiring, and I found an article she had written in ACM Inroads, {VOL 3, ISS 2, (June 2012)} named Transforming High School Computing: A Call to Action. Jan clearly outlined how important computer science education is for our children and our country’s future.

I was so inspired, yet, at the same time, unsure of what I could do to help contribute to advancing computer science education in my community and region; I did not know how to proceed. A few months later, I got to meet Jan again and was able to have a conversation with her. Jan said she believed in and encouraged me (and so many others!) to think of ideas on connecting with our higher education colleagues and organizations such as CSTA, Code.org, Exploring Computer Science, CS for All, CSforAll Teachers, and the Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance Program  (BPC-A) (just to name a few), to motivate young people and adults of the importance of computer science education in their lives; to broaden participation and provide equity access for computer science education that can change the lives of our children and communities for the better. Through Jan’s connections and the NSF funding of programs, I connected with my higher education colleagues at UC-San Diego to help push forward computer science education in my district, the Sweetwater Union High School District, the region of San Diego and Southern California.

I wish I had the space to share with all of you of the efforts and work Jan has done in having so many people and organizations to be a part of this endeavor and national effort, such as the creation of the AP Computer Science Principles course, Exploring Computer Science, providing training and resources for teachers and students, broadening participation, equity access, and so many other programs. Unfortunately, I can only offer a small view of what Jan has done.

Jan has, through the NSF, not only impacted and offered me opportunities to impact the education of our children, but impacted and created a community and a network of so many people and organizations that can collaborate and share their expertise: experts in computer science and educational practices with teachers who are experts in teaching. It was, and remains today, a great collaborative effort for the advancement of Computer Science Education for our children and country.

A few months ago, I got to see Jan speak at the College Board’s AP CS Principles reading and once again, was so inspiring with her talk to the readers. I had a side conversation with her and really enjoyed our discussion about how far we had come in providing computer science education courses to so many more students, schools and communities in the past few years; but we also talked about how much more we had to go to reach out to ALL students; this would NOT be happening without Jan’s commitment and vision.

Recently, Jan has decided to retire from the NSF; there was a great tribute to her at the CSforAll Summit, and many people whose lives she has touched over the years shared with her how important and central her vision and she has been for the advancement of computer science education, broadening participation and equity access.

I did not get a chance to be there and do the same; but, I can share with you, our members, the importance of Jan Cuny and what she has done (and continues to do!) for the advancement of Computer Science education for our kids, teachers, communities and country. Jan gave teachers, higher education colleagues and institutions, and organizations the opportunities to integrate and embed computer science education in public education, to impact and hopefully make the future of our children’s lives and communities better; and I think that is the best thing I can say about anyone: Jan, you made the world a better place; thank you Jan.