SCALE-CA Supporting Computing Access, Leadership, and Equity in California

University Of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) proposes a project, called Supporting Computing Access, Leadership, and Equity in California (SCALE-CS), that will create a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) to scale teacher professional development, build the capacity of education leaders for local implementation, and contribute to the research base on expanding equity-minded computer science (CS) teaching and learning opportunities across the state. California is the sixth largest economy in the world and a "majority minority" state with over 60% of its six million public school students identifying as students of color. The state's size and diversity require a systemic approach to increasing CS opportunities for low-income students, LatinX, African American and Native American students, English language learners, and students with special needs. The focus of this project is to build leadership capacity to ensure that equity is kept at the core of CS education expansion efforts and those efforts involve interventions that are scalable and sustainable. SCALE-CA will use a three-pronged strategy that includes interlocking interventions at the classroom, district and state levels. The NIC will collect data that supports continuous improvement of the following resources and activities: 1) Offer a prototype CSPDWeek for teachers, counselors, and administrators including equity-minded curricula and PD from Exploring Computer Science, Computer Science Principles, and Counselors4Computing that can be replicated and customized at the regional level. 2) Design and develop a state-wide district implementation toolkit and accompanying workshop for administrators to consider the equity implications of district-wide CS education implementation. This will include the co-design of equity indicators for implementation of CS education. 3) Collect evidence from the field that can be used to inform policy makers regarding statewide expansion that responds to the challenges of scalability, equity and long-term sustainability. The NIC founding partners include 5 local education agencies (LEAs) representing the demographics, geography and size of California's diverse school system -- Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Riverside, and Compton -- along with the Alliance for California Computing Education for Students and Schools (ACCESS, which serves as the backbone organization for CSforCA), UCLA researchers and American Institutes for Research (AIR). The NIC will expand to include 5 additional districts relatively new to CS education who will be mentored by the founding 5 districts, potentially reaching a total of 650,000 high school students. The LEAs will engage with SCALE-CA over a four year period learning and sharing data-driven practices while collaboratively addressing challenges of broadening participation in computing such as teacher preparation and support, credentialing, developing college and career pathways, and funding. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.