New NSF Award Will Advance National Computer Science Education Ecosystem
National Science Foundation awards CSforALL a $2.2 million grant to advance and expand diversity computing education for students, with a focus on underrepresented and marginalized groups
For Immediate Response
(New York, NY, Friday, March 31, 2023) — CSforALL is proud to be awarded $2,246,356.00 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to strengthen CSforALL’s national community efforts that raise awareness and build capacity to advance K-12 computer science education for ALL students in collaboration with evaluators from WestEd.
“With this three-year grant from NSF, CSforALL aims to expand and mobilize the ecosystem of organizations that are focused on computer science education to raise awareness and increase capacity of communities that are building pathways to encourage participation for students, especially underrepresented and marginalized groups,” said Dr. Leigh Ann DeLyser, Executive Director, CSforALL.
The CSforALL Alliance, BPC-A: Systemic Change for Broadening Participation in K12 CS Education Pathways aims to;
- Raise Awareness of the need to address issues of under-representation resulting from root causes of historic marginalization, societal stereotypes, and inequitable education systems, and of promising and/or evidence-based approaches to broadening participation in computing;
- Increase the Capacity of the CSforALL membership to use examples and research to meet the needs of communities to implement standards-complete CS education pathways and provide opportunities for students to pursue interest-driven topics that go beyond core fundamentals; and
- Use Data to landscape opportunities across the nation and for BPC by increasing equitable access to and participation in CS education opportunities.
The Alliance is built upon CSforALL Membership, a nationally recognized hub of high-quality organizations and individuals, that are united to bring CS education to ALL students. The CSforALL members comprise 710 organizations and 135 researchers — representing a broad range of organizations nationwide.
“CSforALL is excited to launch a drive within our membership to specifically expand opportunities in computing education for Black and Hispanic students, and for girls. Under the banner of this BPC Alliance, we will be able to study long standing mechanisms and strategies to support and drive member action, as well as to launch new mechanisms to support our role as a hub for the movement, a test bed for trying new approaches, and as a aggregator of resources for our Alliance members,” said Dr. Stephanie Wortel-London, Director of Research; Policy, Research and Evaluation, CSforALL.
With this grant, CSforALL will harness community and communication resources and data tools, including the annual Summit, Commitments process and Member survey that will track progress towards the BPC objectives and goals.
“The importance of continuing to raise awareness and build capacity in CS education cannot be overstated. In today’s digital age, computer science skills are essential for success in virtually every career field. Yet, despite the growing demand for these skills, many schools and districts lack the resources and expertise necessary to provide high-quality CS education to their students. Through the efforts of organizations like CSforALL and NCWIT, we can work towards a future in which every student has the opportunity to learn computer science and pursue their passions and careers in the digital world,” said Terry Hogan, Executive Director, NCWIT.
About CSforALL: The CSforALL Mission is to make high-quality computer science an integral part of the education experience for all K-12 students by mobilizing and strengthening expertise, capacity, and knowledge of communities to support the next generation of problem solvers through systemic-change initiatives and partnerships.
About the NSF’s Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC): The Broadening Participation in Computing program (BPC) aims to significantly increase the number of U.S. citizens and permanent residents receiving post-secondary degrees in the computing disciplines, and to encourage participation of other underrepresented groups in the discipline.
About WestEd: WestEd, a nonpartisan research, development, and service agency, works with education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve learning for children, youth, and adults.
For all media inquiries, please contact Nadia Tronick, Communications Manager, at nadia@csforall.org or call 303.815.9433
Interested in learning more about CSforALL Membership? Please contact us at: memership@csforall.org
