CSforAZ News
Issue 7: May 2018
Register for Designing K-12 Computer Science Pathways Summit
On June 12, 2018 from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm the Computer Science for All (CS for ALL) team will guide selected district teams through a strategic planning process based on the School CSforAll Resource & Implementation Planning Tool (SCRIPT) (see example here) at ASU West.
This FREE SCRIPT workshop is designed to support school district teams in the design of K-12 computer science pathways, using a new tool in development called the SCRIPT to guide the process. Teams spend quite a bit of time working through a series of rubrics (see example here) to enable detailed self-assessments and goal-setting in categories like curriculum/materials, leadership, teacher capacity, infrastructure, partnerships, and community.
Register here by May 28 for your districts to be accepted to the workshop in teams (minimum of 3 participants, max 6) that must include at least:
one central office administrator K – 12,
one building principal,
one elementary LMS, middle or high school computer science teacher
Girls in Tech Phoenix Launches Local Mentorship Platform
Mentorship is an essential part of the leadership equation. It enables us to talk through ideas, mistakes, opportunities, and challenges. The right mentor has an exceedingly positive impact on not only your career and professional performance, but on your private life as well.
But finding a mentor can be difficult. The Phoenix chapter of the national organization, Girls in Tech has recently launched a local mentor network using LeadForCareer’s AI-powered platform to help women create meaningful interactions and foster mentor-mentee relationships.
LeadForCareer’s mentoring platform was created by female-founder Yumi Alyssa Kimura, co-founder and CEO, to empower women in technologies to connect with like-minded professionals. Kimura hopes that platforms like LeadForCareer’s will “help retention and feelings of belonging within their companies and within the tech world as a whole,” citing that women leave the tech industry at a rate of 45% higher than men.
LeadForCareer’s AI-powered platform isn’t only for women, however. Men are welcome to join and use the platform, learn about the issues women in technology face today, and be a part of building the solutions and a better future.
Anyone interested in learning more about or signing up as a mentor or mentee can visit LeadForCareer.com.
$1 million for Computer Science Professional Development
Governor Ducey signed a package of budget bills into law on May 3. Included in the K12 education budget was $1 million for computer science professional development. The language can be found on page 32 of the bill here and more information on page 26 of the education bill here.
This is a terrific win and a great starting point to address this critical need.
"I recognize the importance of computer science education in all grade levels. In lower grades, computer science curriculum develops necessary critical thinking and problem solving skills. In high school, rigorous computer science coursework prepares the student for high-paying workforce opportunities in the high-demand technology sector. With the support of industry partnerships, we will strive to improve access to computer science education in our schools by increasing professional development opportunities for existing and new computer science teachers."
Governor Ducey, September 2017
Thank you for all your efforts to support this initiative!
Computer Science Standards Development Updates
NCWIT Summit 2018 - Where Conversations Lead to Change
Access the Summit Archive with videos of select presentations here.
CSforAZ
Website: https://csforaz.org/
Location: Phoenix, AZ, United States
Twitter: @CSforAZ