The Privilege to Choose: CSforALL offers a “just right” path for many
By David Jessup, Jr., Founder and CEO, Digi-Bridge, Charlotte, North Carolina
My younger brother’s name is Ryan. The two of us grew up very differently than most of the youth I work with today. From an early age, I loved to learn. Ryan did too, but he learned differently than I did. My senior year of high school, teachers were abuzz when they saw another Jessup on their roster. Little did they know, Ryan would not be competing for the top score on the math test. In fact, Ryan would’ve skipped the math test altogether if he wasn’t required to be in class in order to attend automotive, or to put on cleats and take his talents to the field as a freshman football phenom.

You see, growing up, Ryan chose one path — and I chose another. From as early as I can remember, our parents, our school and our community offered both Ryan and I the opportunity to explore all of our innate curiosities. I remember torturous piano lessons, auditions for the morning announcements at school, countless hours whittling on a pinewood derby car, and weekly visits to Future Kids, the place where I was first introduced to computers and coding.
Ryan and I chose our paths because they were “just right” for us.
We chose our paths because we were given the opportunity to explore multiple paths.
In 2009, I entered the classroom as a Teach For America corps member. I quickly realized the choices that were made available to me as a young learner were not universally accessible. I realized the achievement gap between students was perpetuated by a lack of choice.
Many of my kids had only one “choice”: produce proficient scores on end-of-year assessments or receive one academic intervention after another. Even students who showed proficiency found themselves with few (if any) options for self-directed exploration or growth.

In 2018, I believe our community of practitioners and allies has a unique opportunity to reintroduce true choice into the classroom and to all students by adopting a CSforALL agenda. No, I’m not proposing that computer science will offer up the same experience as whittling a wooden box into a car — but I do believe CS is a field that provides a vast array of opportunities for kids to make, break and fix. I believe it’s a pathway for exploration that can lead our youngest learners to reimagine their place in the schoolhouse and in this world.
In North Carolina’s newly released budget, the state committed $500,000 through the Department of Public Instruction’s Computer Science Initiative to expand access to computer science professional development for teachers. This bipartisan effort is a commendable step in the right direction. However, if we’re truly committed to realizing choice for all students, we will need to develop rigorous K-12 standards, expand offerings across the state, and develop tools to evaluate impact. In a state where there are close to 20,000 unfilled computing jobs, the choice is clear.
Digi-Bridge was founded and continues its work in Charlotte, North Carolina to illuminate computer science pathways for all scholars. While our organization’s coursework is currently only offered on Saturday mornings, I believe that in the near future, our great state will realize the privilege of choice and begin providing time during the academic day for all learners to have agency over their educational experience.
David, Ryan, and every child in these great United States deserves a choice.
Let’s make it a real one.

David is the founder and chief executive officer of Digi-Bridge, a federally
recognized Charlotte-based nonprofit working at the nexus of technology
and education. The organization believes that the “digital divide”- a reality that affords only some students with the access needed in order to be successful in a global economy- is exacerbating the country’s educational achievement gap. Employing a three-pronged strategy to eradicate this divide, David oversees advocacy activities, consultancy efforts and educational course offerings carried out by Digi-Bridge.
As a former corps member with Teach For America, David brings his
educational experience to the forefront in support of 21st century teaching
and learning. David received a bachelor’s degree in political science and
pre-law from The University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in
non-profit management from the same institution.
In his free time, David serves as a Global Shaper with The World Economic
Forum, practices yoga and enjoys consuming desserts at any time of day
with family and friends.

