CSforALL Announces First Cohort of EcoSystemsforCS Awardees
The New Initiative EcoSystemsforCS Announces 10 National Awardees
Salt Lake City, Utah, October 23, 2019 — CSforALL (Computer Science for ALL), with support from Schmidt Futures, is excited to announce the ten national EcoSystemforCS awardees. These ten communities across the United States represent the first national cohort of EcoSystemforCS with their varied and unique ideas that will enable change in implementation of high-quality, equitable CS.
Over a one year period, the 10 selected communities will receive a catalyst grant of $15K with a required 1:1 match. The funding will support local organizing efforts, and unlock resources, partnerships, and opportunities. With the received funding and technical assistance the awardees will embark on a national and local spectrum to make high-quality computer science an integral part of K-12 education.
“With 74 applications from over 30 states the selection process was extensive and detailed. Applicants ranged from every region type and sector, the true variety of these applications were most impressive,” said Josh Elder, Director of Strategic Initiatives, CSforALL. “We were looking for applications that had a diverse set of partner organizations, and committed to supporting the growth of CS education in their community. We are confident that these ten will strategically utilize their grant in a measurable and impactful way.”
The Applications Were Selected on the Following Criteria:
- Inclusion of Formal K-12 Education
- EcoSystem Innovation and Strategy
- Increasing Access to Equitable CS
- Sustainability Strategy
- Quality of Application
The national competition was launched in May 2019, leveraging the Ecosystem model that New York City adopted in 2013, in order to provide equitable access to computational thinking and computer science for all of New York City’s 1.1 million students. The EcoSystemforCS model works with all parts-people, organizations, and information-needed to address the problem of ensuring high-quality and rigorous CS Education for all.
“We’re excited to support these ten awardees from across the nation through the CSforALL initiative,” said Kumar Garg, Senior Director for Technology and Society at Schmidt Futures. “Moving towards a community-led model for CS will strengthen the CS movement and has the potential to make it more sustainable, inclusive, and connected to solving local challenges.”
A Closer Look at the Communities:
The 10 Awardees Are:
- Central Washington CS Alliance (Wenatchee & Yakima, Washington)
- Central2CS, (Worthington, OH)
- CS4ALL Miami powered by Miami EdTech (Miami, FL)
- CSforCHI (Chicago, Illinois)
- CSforOK (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
- CSforRGV (Mission, Texas)
- CSMN-Southeast (St. Paul, Minnesota)
- Gateway to Computer Science (Richmond, Virgina)
- Girls Code 205 in Birmingham (Birmingham, Alabama)
- New MexiCodes (Santa Fe, New Mexico)
More information on each EcoSysytemforCS, see full fact-sheet here.
The new initiative is a monumental step in leveraging the importance of an EcoSystem in the computer science education movement. With the ten awardees, CSforALL and the community will learn and leverage from the ecosystem model in growing the CSforALL movement.
CSforALL is the national hub of the computer science for all movement with a mission to make high-quality computer science an integral part of K-12 education in the United States. Our three pillar approach; Support Local Change, Increase Rigor and Equity, and Grow the Movement, directs our work across a national and local spectrum to provide equitable and accessible K-12 computer science education to every student. We engage with diverse stakeholders leading computer science initiatives across the nation to support and facilitate implementation of rigorous, inclusive and sustainable computer science. For more information: www.csforall.org Twitter: @CSforALL
Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt, that finds exceptional people and helps them do more for others — by knitting talent into networks, betting on the most promising ideas through diverse forms of competition and support, and by equipping people to scale through partners and modern tools. Learn more at schmidtfutures.com
