In order to advance broadening participation in computing (BPC) efforts, research and practice projects should implement a board (advisory or strategic) that specifically focuses on equity. In light of the murder of George Floyd, the impact of COVID-19 on minoritized communities, and the historical (and continual) erasure of diverse voices within the computing and technology fields, it is important that networks, alliances, and the broader computer science community engage with stakeholders with critical expertise in areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In this panel, Expanding Computing in Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance Executive Board members will discuss the need for equity-centered conversations, specifically when it comes to BPC. Panelists and audience members will engage in dialogue around the necessity for, and value of, creating spaces where diverse voices are elevated and supported.

Collective impact is an approach for solving complex social problems at scale. The challenge of broadening participation in computing (BPC) is one such problem. The complexity of BPC is compounded by the decentralized nature of public education, where decisions are made primarily at the state level and subject to interpretation at the district level. As such, diversifying computer science (CS) pathways across the nation requires a systemic approach such as collective impact to engage all of the stakeholders who influence CS education and whose decisions can either facilitate or hinder BPC efforts. This experience report discusses how the collective impact framework has been used to advance the work of the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, an NSF funded BPC Alliance focused on states and state policy as the unit of change. We discuss how the five essential features of collective impact (common agenda, shared measurement, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and backbone support) coalesce to facilitate ECEP's theory of change. The report highlights specific policy changes that ECEP states have addressed to promote BPC, the flipped accountability that results from a non-hierarchical leadership model, and the challenges of measuring systemic changes as an intermediary to BPC.

In recent years, state members of the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance have made efforts to increase access to and broaden participation in computing at the K-12 levels. Each ECEP state's K-12 computer science (CS) education journey has been documented during their ECEP membership resulting in over 25,000 digital documents. Over the course of the project it was necessary to track key events, identify trends across states, and maintain consumable records of state progress. A systematic way to collect and track the data is critical to conduct historical and cross-state analyses. In an effort to quantify and categorize, the researchers engaged in a review process of all ECEP reports, artifacts, and other relevant data to develop a system. Relevant and important components were identified in each type of document and assigned codes using ECEP's Five Stage Model ("a five-step process toward state-level CS education reform"), the Capacity, Access, Participation, and Experience (CAPE) framework (to measure equity in CS education implementation), and specific policies initiatives (alignment with various policy initiatives - Code.org's "Nine Policy Ideas to Make CS Fundamental to K?12 Education"). Indiana was identified as a state to conduct an initial, in-depth case study using this process. Indiana's case will be used as a model to further develop the stories of other ECEP Alliance member states. Through the development of a data dashboard, we hope to organize all of this information to make it more easily accessible for review and further analysis. The ECEP data dashboard development is currently in progress.

As many U.S. states continue to work to increase and broaden participation in K-20 computing education, it is imperative to collect data and construct landscape reports to create organized efforts and strategic plans. Effective CS education interventions, and strategic plans, must be data-driven in order to ensure that all students have access to and are retained in high quality K- 20 computer science pathways (Stanton et al., 2017). The Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, and the 23 member states, have been leaders in the development and promotion of state-level landscape reports. Several ECEP states have successfully designed, delivered, and analyzed data collection tools to landscape the current status of computer science education within their own state (e.g., Maryland, Indiana, Texas). However, there have been instances where data collected by different stakeholders have provided conflicting perspectives and viewpoints. Conflicting data, data that fails to account for intersectionality, or leaves out critical populations or context, potentially distracts time and effort from broadening participation in computing. This session will provide a platform for researchers and evaluators to discuss data relevant to BPC efforts, how to develop surveys, and how to structure and disseminate reports.

Efforts to improve and promote CS education characterized by greater participation of underrepresented groups have taken off sharply in the six years since the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) NSF alliance was first funded. Though many of these initiatives are occurring at the student and teacher level, ECEP and other national-level organizations have demonstrated the importance of focusing on change at the state level, as this can have important, long-term implications on policy and infrastructure. This poster describes ECEP's emergent design as a backbone organization helping state-level teams achieve educational change around CS. It also highlights key lessons learned through the alliance about how to foster CS education change at the state level. Four key lessons stand out. 1) The importance of understanding that engaging states requires appreciating the commonality of a framework around key areas to change (such as state standards, teacher certification and graduation requirements) but also respecting the uniqueness of state circumstances in these change areas. 2) The shared value created through a collective impact model to build a community that can support rich discussion and sharing of ideas. 3) The utility of an empirically derived a 4-stage model of state change used by ECEP that emphasized defining leaders, understanding the CS education landscape and finding allies to support efforts. and 4) The role of state team structures that can facilitate change when they are guided by identifying and engaging key stakeholders within a state and giving them a voice in driving the strategies and plans.

Afterschool and summer learning programs are an essential tool to support and expand K-12 computer science education. When used strategically, they can fill out a pathway of CS opportunities across the grade-span, spark interest, deepen engagement, and connect in- and out-of-school learning. Because African-American and Hispanic youth, and youth from low-income households, participate in afterschool programs in higher numbers (America After 3pm, 2014), and because more schools offer informal CS than offer formal coding classes (Google/Gallup, 2016), these programs provide access to "preparatory privilege"--the additional exposures that prime well-resourced students' confidence with computing (Margolis, 2008).

No abstract available.