Computer Science (CS) equity initiatives in high schools are increasingly common, but their evaluation remains challenging due to a lack of specialized assessment tools. Existing tools for general education evaluation often fail to address the unique aspects of CS education. This study addresses this gap by leveraging the Experience lens of the CAPE framework (Capacity, Access, Participation, and Experience) to develop a survey tool in collaboration with educators in a Researcher-Practitioner Partnership. These survey questions are designed to capture nuanced data about students' CS experiences, which generic survey tools could overlook.

Improving equity in K-12 Computer Science (CS) education benefits from the collaboration of classroom teachers, school counselors, and school leaders. This paper presents the outcomes of a pilot program that brought together cross-functional teams consisting of CS teachers, school counselors, and administrators. Over the course of a year, these teams attended monthly, equity-focused workshops, leveraging pre-existing materials from affordable, high-quality, research-based programs. The use of these resources demonstrated benefits of sequencing and synthesizing existing programs. Evidence from surveys and interviews shows that the workshops promoted learning and fostered collaboration between the cross-functional teams that would not have happened otherwise. Participants were motivated by the program, and they generated ideas that turned into actionable projects to promote CS education equity in their schools. While the initiative was well received, areas for improvement were identified, particularly, in school recruitment, workshop structure, and evaluation. This pilot initiative demonstrates that equity-centered programs comprised of cross-functional teams can help achieve systemic improvement of CS education equity.

Many K-12 educators who are new to computer science (CS) may have a lack of confidence or sense of intimidation when starting their CS teaching journey. To mitigate this, Massachusetts DESE contracted CSforMA to create a three-day "Introduction to Computer Science for Educators" workshop (ICSW) focused on CS fundamentals. The ICSW covered grade-level CS terminology and concepts including computational thinking, physical computing, and programming. Evaluation of the ICSW showed 98% of respondents reported increased knowledge of CS. In a survey administered later that summer, 100% of respondents who took the ICSW reported that it helped them better understand curriculum materials. This replicable, scalable, and successful ICSW model could benefit other State DoEs and CS professional development coordinators. This work also shows the benefits of using an external evaluator.

By 2026, the number of computing-related job openings in the US are expected to reach 3.5 million [1]. Yet even with an enrollment booming in many 4-year college computing programs, institutions of higher education have been unable to produce enough graduates to meet this growing demand. In addition, women and racial/ethnic minority students continue to be underrepresented in computing majors further reducing the potential computing workforce. Community colleges, because of their mission to serve their local communities, tend to have more diverse student populations. Yet, to date, they have not been considered a critical partner in the conversation on broadening participation in computing (BPC). To fill this gap, universities and community colleges need to work more collaboratively to bridge the workforce and diversity gaps [2]. In this BOF, participants will discuss strategies and resources for community colleges to participate more fully in the BPC community. Topics may include pathways from community colleges to 4-year computing programs, improving institutional culture to support advancement, providing role models so that students are encouraged to see themselves in computing, and strategies to recruit, retain, and motivate diverse students.

Over half of community college (CC) students are non-white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college. Given that community colleges (CCs) enroll minorities and women in larger numbers than universities, it is imperative for both universities and CCs to engage in collaborative efforts to broaden the participation of diverse peoples in the computing field. Such efforts could include, but not be limited to, the creation of a national broadening participation in computing (BPC) alliance, structured transfer pathways from the CC to the university, the inclusion of a CS Principles course for college, and changing the commonly held perceptions of CCs. Brainstorming, and then building these strategic partnerships requires that experts from various backgrounds come together to share knowledge and experiences that contribute to a better understanding of the role such collaborative efforts could play with universities and CCs in BPC efforts in CS and information technology (IT).

While computer science (CS) jobs are growing rapidly, universities are not producing enough CS graduates to fill a projected shortage of almost a million workers by 2020 [1]. To add to this problem, there is a striking lack of diversity in the graduates of CS programs nationwide [2]. Of the degrees awarded, the overwhelming number - 80% - were awarded to males, while only 5% went to African-Americans, 18% to Asians, and 9% to Hispanics [3, 2]. Bringing community colleges (CCs) into the fold will enable us to confront this projected workforce shortage [2]. More importantly, it will enable us to diversify one of the most important fields of our time, computer and information sciences. Over half of community college (CC) students are non- white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college [4].

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Over half of community college (CC) students are non-white, and more than half of all Hispanic and Black undergraduates start at community college. Given that community colleges (CCs) enroll minorities and women in larger numbers than four-year institutions, it is imperative for both, CCs and four-year institutions, to engage in collaborative efforts to broaden the participation of diverse peoples into computing and facilitate unobstructed pathways from the two-year to four-year educations. While CCs are rich in diversity, their students face an inordinate number of obstacles transferring to a bachelor's degree particularly in computer science (CS). The complexities of the CC landscape require that experts from various backgrounds come together to share knowledge and experiences to contribute to a better understanding of the role CCs can play with four-year institutions in broadening the participation efforts in CS and information technology (IT).