Transaction Description:
BPC-A: SYSTEMIC CHANGE FOR BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN K12 CS EDUCATION PATHWAYS, THE CSFORALL ALLIANCE -THE CSFORALL ORGANIZATION WILL LAUNCH A NEW BROADENING PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTING (BPC) ALLIANCE FOCUSED ON BRINGING TOGETHER THE FULL ECOSYSTEM OF K-12 ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING COMPUTER SCIENCE (CS) EDUCATION ACROSS THE UNITED STATES. CSFORALL HAS A CURRENT MEMBERSHIP OF OVER 800 SCHOOL DISTRICTS, CHARTER SCHOOLS, PRIVATE SCHOOLS, CURRICULUM PROVIDERS, NON PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND RESEARCHERS. AS A PART OF THIS NEW ALLIANCE, CSFORALL WILL CREATE A SHARED MOVEMENT TO INCREASE THE CAPACITY OF THESE MEMBERS TO OFFER ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY CS INSTRUCTION AND ENSURE THAT ALL STUDENTS ARE PROVIDED FUNDAMENTAL LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WHICH SUPPORT INCREASED ENROLLMENT OF WOMEN, BLACK, AND HISPANIC STUDENTS IN ELECTIVE AND AP CLASSES IN PREPARATION FOR COLLEGE AND CAREER. BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION EXIST NOT ONLY IN ISOLATED POCKETS ACROSS THE US, BUT PERVADE THE VERY FABRIC OF EDUCATION SYSTEM AND DATA SHOWS GAPS EXIST IN ALMOST EVERY COMMUNITY AND INSTITUTION ACROSS THE US. THE GOALS OF THE PROJECT ARE TO LEVERAGE THE CSFORALL ORGANIZATION AND MEMBERSHIP TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE NEED FOR CS EDUCATION, BUILD THE CAPACITY OF ORGANIZATIONS WORKING TO ADVANCE K-12 CS BPC GOALS AND USE DATA TO LANDSCAPE OPPORTUNITIES AND PROGRESS TO BPC GOALS. BY WORKING AT SCALE WITH THE NATIONAL MEMBERSHIP, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME PRODUCING TOOLS AND RESOURCES FOR LOCAL IMPLEMENTATION, CSFORALL CAN CREATE OPPORTUNITIES TO IDENTIFY, ADDRESS, AND EVENTUALLY CLOSE BPC GAPS IN K-12 CS. CSFORALL WILL LEVERAGE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNICATIONS MECHANISMS SUCH AS NEWSLETTERS, THE ANNUAL CSFORALL SUMMIT, AND DATA OPPORTUNITIES SUCH AS THE CSFORALL COMMITMENTS PROCESS AND ANNUAL MEMBER SURVEY TO MONITOR PROGRESS TOWARDS BPC GOALS. CSFORALL, TOGETHER WITH ITS EVALUATION PARTNER WESTED, WILL SEEK TO ANSWER THE RESEARCH QUESTION: HOW DO THE MECHANISMS IN AN ALLIANCE COMMITTED TO EQUITY AND JUSTICE IN CS EDUCATION, COMPOSED OF LEADERS AND INSTITUTIONS SERVING STUDENTS AND TEACHERS IN DIVERSE WAYS, DRIVE IMPACTS RESULTING IN BROADENED PARTICIPATION IN COMPUTING THROUGHOUT THE K-12 SPACE AND INTO COLLEGE AND CAREER. CSFORALL RESEARCHERS WILL LEVERAGE BOTH QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DATA IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY MECHANISMS FOR CHANGE AND ALLIANCE ACTIVITIES ALIGNED WITH BPC GOALS AND ACTIVITIES. AT THE SAME TIME, CSFORALL WILL USE NATIONAL AND PARTNER DATA IN ORDER TO MEASURE CHANGE IN COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN CS AND USE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS TO IDENTIFY CORRELATIONS BETWEEN BPC GOALS AND ACTIVITIES AND PROGRESS ON BPC OUTCOMES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.