Washington
Conversations about improving K-12 computer science education very often seem to culminate with the same question: But where do we get more teachers?
At an event held at the Microsoft Policy Innovation Center here yesterday, panelists dug into that very question. And while there seemed to be widespread agreement that increased funding for training would help boost the number of computer science teachers, there was slightly less harmony on where the bulk of those dollars should come from.
Cameron Wilson, the chief operating officer and president of the , which champions equal access to K-12 computer science, said state and federal funding are both necessary to ensure teachers get the professional learning they need. And that funding can鈥檛 just be allowable鈥攊t needs to be targeted, he said.
鈥淭his is a room full of people interested in computer science,鈥� he said. 鈥淕enerally school districts don鈥檛 have people like you.鈥� If the professional funding is not designated specifically for computer science, it鈥檚 not likely to be used for the subject, Wilson suggested.
Rep. Chuck Fleishmann (R-Tenn.) opened the event by explaining that he has worked with colleagues from across the aisle to improve K-12 computer science education.
The that could be used for computer science education, among many other school programs.
But under the federal education budget recently proposed by the House, as well as the one proposed by President Trump, more than . When asked about this, Fleischmann pointed out that most education funding actually comes from the states rather than the federal government. He then said corporations and philanthropists could help fill the gap.
鈥淢any times the private sector will step up,鈥� he said. 鈥淒on鈥檛 overlook the fact that there鈥檚 a lot of philanthropy out there locally and nationally.鈥�
Relying on Philanthropy?
In an interview afterward, Lauren Allen, a STEM management analyst in the District of Columbia鈥檚 Office of the State Superintendent of Education, which acts like a state education department, said Title II funds are used to pay for summer trainings, standards review groups, and many other STEM initiatives.
For example, 鈥渨e鈥檝e had a computer science certification for a really long time,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t needs to be looked at, it needs to be updated to be realistic, it probably needs to be updated regularly. We have to pay someone to do that.鈥�
Relying on philanthropy, according to Allen, is easier said than done. 鈥淚 work for the government鈥攖hat鈥檚 not my bag,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e written grants, but I don鈥檛 know the first thing about having a meeting at Microsoft and telling them what they want to hear to get the funding I need for a project ... or hosting a fundraiser where companies would come by tables. I don鈥檛 even know if that鈥檚 legal.鈥�
Wilson of Code.org said his group is supportive of keeping Title II funding in the budget. 鈥淏ut even with Title II being restored, without targeting funding for computer science, federal funding is not really going to move the needle,鈥� he said.
Getting Courses in Schools
One big policy lever that will help, Wilson said, is requiring that all schools offer computer science. That doesn鈥檛 mean the course is a graduation requirement, just that it鈥檚 available. From there, schools will have to figure out how to fund it and train teachers鈥攚hich he said groups like Code.org can help with.
A recent analysis of national test data found that . And students from low-income families were less likely to have access to the subject than those from high-income families.
Another panelist, Melissa Rasberry, a senior technical assistance consultant for the American Institutes for Research, who supports , said she thinks a shift in mindset can help with the teacher workforce issue.
As a 3rd grade teacher previously, 鈥淚 taught my students computational thinking all the time鈥擨 just didn鈥檛 realize it,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I showed them 6 times 4 was the same as 6 groups of 4, that鈥檚 an algorithm. ... We need to help teachers understand they can bridge the gap with what they鈥檙e already doing.鈥� Ideally, preservice programs could show 糖心动漫vlog how to infuse computer science into other things they鈥檙e teaching, she said.
The hour-and-a-half-long event left many questions unanswered, such as how to recruit computer science majors to teach when they can get paid more in industry, and what exactly computer science teacher training should look like. But Allyson Knox, the director of education policy and programs for Microsoft, who moderated the conversation, rounded out by calling on attendees鈥攚ho hailed from nonprofits, after-school groups, universities, the private sector, and a few from schools鈥攖o go home and help 鈥渂uild political will鈥� for the cause.
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