Code.org: A Resource for Computer Science in Your District

School districts across the country are dipping their toes into the computer science education pool. If you’ve noticed this trend and wondered why, consider these statistics:

• Computing jobs are the No. 1 source of new wages in the country, according to The Conference Board.
• Computer science is one of the subjects students enjoy the most (along with the arts), according to a study by Change the Equation.
• Some 91 percent of parents want their child to study computer science, according to Gallup research.

Spectrum of Support

Two years ago, Rick Sheldahl, career and technical education director of the Durham Public Schools, knew all of these statistics and wanted to make computer science a fundamental part of his district’s curriculum. He just didn’t have the instructional resources or staff know-how to make it happen.

Enter Code.org, a national nonprofit organization formed in 2013 with major support from the CEOs of the country’s most recognized technology corporations. Code.org works with a network of regional partners to address the two central challenges that the Durham Public Schools in North Carolina ran into: What curriculum should we teach and who can teach it?

Selecting a computer science curriculum is not as easy as picking a textbook off the shelf. That’s why our organization designed a K-12 spectrum of courses that are (1) approachable for students and teachers; (2) compatible with the widest possible range of technology; and (3) free for any educator to use or build on. These courses start at the ground-zero basics of computer science for elementary school students and reach all the way to AP Computer Science Principles, a course launched last fall by the College Board.

Students get to make their own mobile web apps in the year-long course, which emphasizes creative thinking. Nearly 200 colleges and universities already grant credit or placement for successional completion. (The College Board continues to offer the AP Computer Science A course, which focuses on computing skills related to programming in Java.)

Educators can see the full pathway through the new AP course — along with standards alignment, assessments and daily lesson plans — at  https://code.org/educate. We also curate a list of high-quality, third-party resources to help schools and school districts make the most appropriate choice.

Teaching Talent

Unfortunately, a great curriculum doesn’t do much without a great educator to teach it. Similar to the situation faced in Durham, school leaders elsewhere find it difficult to locate a pool of credentialed teachers with a computer science background.

In response, Code.org has developed a free professional learning program to prepare teachers without a computer science background to successfully teach our courses. Our network of regional partners and facilitators offer this professional learning program nationwide.

For elementary school teachers, professional development is offered via a one-day workshop available in locations across the United States. Middle and high school-level teachers commit to a year-long professional learning program that starts with a week during the summer prior to teaching the course. It continues with quarterly, one-day workshops and online support throughout the year. Applications for the 2017–18 cohort of middle and high school teachers closed in mid-March, but our elementary school workshops happen year-round (https://code.org/k5).

Partners Available

With the help of Code.org, Sheldahl was able to identify a team of teachers in the Durham Public Schools who had participated in Code.org’s professional learning previously. Last year, these new teachers offered introductory computer science at all five comprehensive high schools in the district. Last fall, Durham offered the new AP Computer Science Principles course to its students.

If you think your school district is ready to introduce or expand computer science instruction, get the course added to the master schedule and have teachers sign up for Code.org’s professional learning. For support, identify a regional partner near you (https://code.org/educate/partner) or contact us at outreach@code.org.