NYSED Guidance about K-12 computer science pathways
NYSED has indicated that schools and districts have the flexibility to choose how they choose to implement New York's K-12 Computer Science and Digital Fluency Learning Standards. The examples above give schools some ideas for how they can provide different types of courses for students based on their interests and on specific district goals and capacity. It's important for your district to set aside planning time to review their options, meet with community members and industry stakeholders, and choose a pathway that helps all students learn the standards.
Some Suggested Next STeps
Research: Talk to People
Talk to different stakeholders across your district to gain an initial understanding of where computer science exists within courses and programs around your district and where it does not exist. Find your internal champions to invite to your CS education planning team. Think about partners like nonprofits, families, community members, and local industry who might be able to help.
Build: Create Your CS Education Planning Team
Identify and invite a diverse coalition of planning team members. Teams may consist of school & district leaders, teachers from different grade levels, non-instructional staff, school counselors, registrars library media specialists, community members, industry partners, parents, and/or students. Set a regular schedule for meetings and identify a facilitator to send meeting invites, create agendas, & run meetings.
Plan: Schedule a SCRIPT Workshop or Dedicate Planning Time
A SCRIPT workshop helps school district teams to plan their next steps for creating K-12 CS education pathways for all students. Contact CSForAll to learn about upcoming workshops or schedule a workshop with a local facilitator. Creating a plan will help you determine your implementation strategy for systems-level change in five key areas: leadership, teacher capacity and development, materials & curriculum selection, partners, and community.
Evaluate: Decide What & How to Collect Data
Design and deliver a survey to understand where CS is being taught in your district. Design the survey so that you can deliver it annually to measure growth. Design your survey with equity in mind to make sure ALL students receive computer science and that all teachers feel confident in teaching the subject.
Prepare: Train and Support Teachers
Depending on your district's needs, your teachers may need CS professional development, an approved CS certification program, robust curriculum aligned to the NYS Standards, or all of the above. Different teachers may need different levels of support, certification pathways, and/or instructional coaching.
Partner: Utilize Your Local Resources
After you identify training needs, you'll need funding, volunteers, after school and outside of school time programs, and university partners that align with your CS district plan.
Looking for funding ideas? NYSED made this helpful guide for how education technology and other state funding sources can be used by districts.
Connect: Join Local & National CS Communities
All districts in New York are learning how to implement CS together. Join organizations such as NYSCATE, CSTA (and your local chapter), ISTE, and CSForAll to connect with the local & national CS education communities for support.
Reflect: Determine Areas for Improvement
Continue to reflect and collect data for program improvement as you roll out CS education to all students. Identify additional supports as needed.
Make a Computer Science Education Plan for Your District
CSForAll SCRIPT Program
The SCRIPT — the Strategic CSforALL Resource & Implementation Planning Tool — is a framework to guide teams of school & district leaders, staff, and educators through collaborative visioning, self-assessment & goal-setting exercises to create or expand upon a CS education implementation plan for their students.
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