Creating K-12 Computer Science Pathways in Rural California Schools
Learn how one hybrid project, CS4NorCal, uses research and innovation to implement computer science education in rural California schools
After reflecting on recent research that suggests students in rural schools face persistent challenges to accessing CS education, California’s Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) launched CS4NorCal, a five-year project, that seeks to learn how to establish pathways that allow students in small rural schools to access CS pathways. This is in response to the 2020 “Moving Forward: Closing the Computer Science Learning Gap” article, which suggests that students from rural areas are least likely to say they have learned programming or coding when compared to students from suburban and urban areas.
Sixty percent of California districts meet the definition of small or very small (fewer than 2,500 enrolled) and about 65% of those qualify as “rural.” SSDA Executive Director Tim Taylor notes that the “digital divide is one of the country’s most challenging civil rights issues. CS4NorCal acts on this by equipping hundreds of rural educators with the skills to teach computer science so their students are prepared for 21st-century jobs, which will be one of the most important projects in our 38-year history. CS4NorCal students will be more prepared to compete for college and career opportunities.”
In service of broadening student participation in CS, CS4NorCal is researching the potential impacts of three key innovations: multi-year, recursive CS professional learning for in-service educators to establish CS pathways; expanded capacity of regional organizations to provide ongoing support; and an ecosystem of local and remote organizations to mentor and introduce students to real-world CS applications and boost CS career literacy.
Professional Learning
First, SSDA is building a replicable model of professional learning that addresses challenges typically faced by small rural schools, including geographic isolation, lack of local expertise and resources, the burden of travel, and a lack of substitutes. For example, much of the professional learning will be delivered via a “hub-and-spoke” system that blends distance learning with in-person, small-group instruction and coaching. Workshops will be broadcast from a central hub managed by the Sacramento County Office of Education to spokes within each participating county office of education, where local leaders will work in person with their teachers. This solution reduces the need to travel, while building the capacity of local experts.
SSDA is collaborating with leaders from six counties in the Far North of California to recruit up to 265 teachers to participate in two years of professional learning by 2024–25. California’s Summer of CS is the centerpiece of the model, which also includes several days of academic year professional learning and quarterly Community of Practice meetings through the new Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) California Far North Chapter. The professional learning model is supported by several recognized content partners, including Code.org, Exploring Computer Science, National Center for Computer Science Education, UCLA Center X, and the National Center for Women & Information Technology.
Jared Amalong, the SCOE Director of Computer Science Education and a partner of the CS4NorCal project, noted that “since 2018, over 800 California teachers, counselors, and administrators have participated in the Summer of CS. However, those participants have been predominantly from schools serving suburban and urban areas. This year, it was exciting to see educators from small and rural schools in the Far North of California participate in professional learning that aligns with their county’s CSforAll Vision Statement.”
Regional Support for CS Pathways
In addition to researching the impacts of a unique professional learning model, the CS4NorCal project is seeking to understand how regional educational organizations can support sustainable CS pathways. The initial stage of the project entailed establishing a structure that features multiple tiers of responsibility (figure 1) to engage and build the capacity of local county offices of education (COEs) and school districts. CS4NorCal’s Steering Committee, composed of leaders from each participating COE, has guided the direction of the project’s development. Recognizing that 65% of participating schools enroll fewer than 300 students, the COEs will be a critical delivery agent of ongoing CS professional learning.
Each COE has identified an instructional specialist to serve on CS4NorCal’s Task Force, which provides immediate support for professional learning, and become the local “CS champion.” By developing the capacity of educational leaders at the local level and giving them voice in the design of both the professional learning and instructional programming, SSDA believes that CS4NorCal is likely to be sustained beyond the life of the grant. One CS Champion, Marian Murphy-Shaw (Siskiyou County Office of Education Executive Director of Instruction) sees the value that CS4NorCal can bring to the sparsely populated county she serves in a mountainous region dotted with ranches scattered among small valleys: “We are truly impressed with not only the potential of the content for future career paths our students can access, but also in the instructional philosophy that supports so much work on social and emotional learning (SEL), universal design for learning (UDL) and successful learning opportunities for every K-12 student.”
Local CS Education Ecosystem
Lastly, each county has formed a local planning committee, composed of K-12 and postsecondary educators, business partners and other stakeholders, to establish its CS vision and implementation plan using the CSforAll SCRIPT Program. During the 2021–22 school, the planning committees will focus on SCRIPT’s Partnership and Community goals, specifically to develop the capacity of participating schools and community partners to design and implement effective work-based learning and college awareness activities, key components of the CS4NorCal pathway implementation model.
About the Author: CS4NorCal is a unique 5-year regional research and innovation project sponsored by the California Small School Districts’ Association (SSDA) to create K-12 computer science pathways in small rural schools in 6 northern California counties: Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta and Siskiyou. Through 2024–2025, CS4NorCal is an opportunity for education leaders from county offices of education, districts and schools to investigate and design implementation models to integrate the 2018 state CS standards into their educational programs and provide students with access to one of the core subjects of a “well-rounded” education. (Every Child Succeed Act, 2015)
To learn more about the CS4NorCal project and its innovations, visit www.cs4norcal.org.
The contents of this article were developed under a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Education Innovation and
Research(EIR) Program. However, those contents do not
necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of
Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal
government.
