Computer Science Education Week and new NSF CSforAll Solicitation
A recent White House blog post by Ruthe Farmer, Senior Policy Advisor for Tech Inclusion, emphasizes that Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek) is an opportunity to join the #CSforAll movement and give every student the opportunity to learn computer science. On that note, with the kick off of CSEdWeek yesterday, the White House released a fact sheet detailing the great scope of CS for All efforts, including a new CSforAll program solicitation from NSF called Computer Science for All: Researcher Practitioner Partnerships (CS for All: RPP).
A letter authored by Jim Kurose, Assistant Director at NSF CISE and Erwin Gianchandani, Deputy Assistant Director, at NSF CISE, describes the new CS for All: RPP program and how you can bolster CS education efforts during CSEdWeek:
“Today, we’re happy to announce a new program solicitation – Computer Science for All: Researcher Practitioner Partnerships (CS for All: RPP) – focused on fostering the research and development needed to bring CS and computational thinking (CT) to all schools across the nation. Specifically, this solicitation aims to provide high school teachers with the preparation, professional development and ongoing support that they need to teach rigorous computer science courses; and K-8 teachers with the instructional materials and preparation they need to integrate CS/CT into their teaching.
A new White House Fact Sheet issued today further demonstrates the momentum behind CS education, highlighting a number of new public and private commitments. The Fact Sheet describes how Federal agencies are working together and with private partners to enable access to CS education for all students across the Nation.
But there remains much work to do – and we need the continued involvement of the entire CISE community! During this year’s CSEdWeek – and throughout the year ahead – we invite you to join us to help bolster CS education efforts. You can visit a local school; organize others to join in a CS activity, such as an Hour of Code; or engage in the conversation online using the hashtags #CSEdWeek and #CSforAll.”
