CS as a Graduation Requirement: Catalyst for Systemic Change

Since President Obama\u27s announcement of the Computer Science for All Initiative in 2016, there has been a surge in the number of districts that are planning for or newly implementing computer science (CS) offerings at their schools. Chicago Public Schools (CPS) is the first large school district to have adopted Computer Science as a high school graduation requirement, taking this significant step along the path towards systemic change. The foundation was laid eight years ago when an informal alliance was formed between a CPS high school CS teacher, a CPS administrator, and three university computer scientists

The Changing Profile of ECS Teachers

This study compares the characteristics and professional development (PD) experiences between teachers who began teaching Exploring Computer Science before and after the enactment of a CS graduation requirement in the Chicago Public Schools. The post-requirement teachers were less likely to have a CS background, but their experience in the ECS PD and their level of confidence at the end of the PD were equivalent to the early adopters

Assessing the Impact of a CSforALL Research-Practice Partnership Using the PROSPER Framework: A Case Study of the Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS)

The Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS) Research Practice Partnership (RPP) has been working for more than a decade towards their mission to engage in research and development that enables Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to ensure that all students in Chicago participate in engaging, relevant, and rigorous computing experiences, increase opportunities for all students to pursue computing pathways and prepare all students for the future of work. The partnership engaged in an iterative design process to develop a framework for understanding the areas of RPP impact on a district. This paper applies the PROSPER framework to the CAFÉCS case study by deductively coding 26 RPP-led publications and 10 grant awards. The results of this analysis suggest that the RPP was able to make significant impact in the areas of Programs, Research, Organizational Structure, and Policy, leading to Equitable Results for students. We present the PROSPER Framework as a practical framework that other education RPPs can use to assess their own impact on their partner districts. We discuss further questions and areas of interest as means to better understand the interconnected nature of these different areas of impact

Chicago Alliance For Equity in Computer Science

CAFECS is committed to ensuring that all students in Chicago participate in engaging, relevant, and rigorous computing experiences by addressing problems of practice through research and development that increases opportunities for all students to pursue computing pathways and prepares all students for the future of work

Chicago Alliance For Equity in Computer Science

In 2016, CPS enacted a high school computer science graduation requirement as a means to broaden participation in computer science. ECS is the primary course that supports enactment of this policy. With limited numbers of certified computer science teachers, CPS relied on teachers from a variety of disciplines to teach ECS. The ECS professional development program is designed to prepare teachers from all backgrounds to support student success in ECS. This study examines how the profile of ECS teachers changed and the impact of that change on teachers\u27 experiences with ECS professional development

Chicago Alliance For Equity in Computer Science

Each year, about 14,000 Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students graduate with one year of high school computer science (CS) in fulfillment of the district’s CS graduation requirement. This accomplishment was the culmination of a decade of work by the Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFÉCS), which includes CPS teachers and administrators, university CS faculty, and educational researchers. CAFÉCS research indicates that CPS significantly increased the capacity of schools to offer the Exploring Computer Science (ECS) introductory course, resulting in a rapid, equitable increase in students’ participation in CS. Making CS mandatory did not negatively impact performance in ECS. Students after the graduation requirement were also equally likely to be inspired to take additional CS coursework, thus doubling the number of students pursuing CS pathways. A large number of these students are now attending the City Colleges of Chicago with increased interest in CS. Recently, CAFÉCS launched a collaboration with Wright College (one of the City Colleges) and Mentor Collective to support students as they transition from CPS to the city colleges. A pilot group of 17 Wright College students are receiving peer mentoring from students at UIC and DePaul

Assessing the Effectiveness of Computer Science RPPs: The Case of CAFECS

Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs) are a relatively recent development as a potential strategy to address the complex challenges in computer science education. Consequently, there is little guidance available for assessing the effectiveness of RPPs. This paper describes the formative evaluation approach used to assess the progress of the first year of the formalized RPP, Chicago Alliance for Equity in Computer Science (CAFE´CS). This paper contributes to the RPP literature by providing a case study of how an RPP effectiveness framework can be adapted and used to inform partnership improvement efforts in computer science education

Chicago Alliance For Equity in Computer Science (CAFECS): Cycles of improvement\u27\u27 poster in Special Session: A discussion of research practice partnerships in CS education

CAFECS builds upon a long-term partnership between Chicago Public Schools (CPS), The Learning Partnership, Depaul University, Loyola University, and the University of Illinois Chicago. It was formed to support CPS in the enactment of it\u27s high school CS grad requirement. This poster will describe the formation of CAFECS, how the partnership has evolved after formalizing as an RPP, its research agenda, and the process of assessing the progress of CAFECS