LPFI/OUSD CS Working Group

Computer Science Access in California

    • 65% of California’s public high schools offer NO computer science courses.
    • Fewer than 13% of California’s public high schools offer AP Computer Science.
    • Without access to advanced placement computer science courses, students are eight times less likely to pursue computer science in higher education.
  • Secondary Education:
    • African-American and Latino students represent 59% of the California high school population, but just 11% of the 2014 AP CS testtakers.
    • In California, (the state with the highest numbers of projected computing jobs), only 121 African-American students and 610 Latino students took the AP Computer Science exam in 2014.
  • Post-secondary Education:
    • African Americans and Latinos combined earn just 17% of all Computer Science Bachelor’s degrees and just 7% of all Computer Science Ph.D.’s.
  • Workforce:
    • African Americans and Latinos combined comprise just 9% of the entire computing workforce and make up just 6% of Computer Science faculty.

LPFI/OUSD Survey Results

In 2013, LPFI and Oakland Unified School District co-created the LPFI/OUSD Working Group, tasked with making recommendations for strengthening CS education in the district.

In August of 2014, the working group administered an OUSD Computer Science assets & challenges survey and compiled from responses from the Working Group and 18 district stakeholders.

Survey results revealed:

  • Staff & Administration:
    • No one has holistic CS programmatic coordination within their job description
    • Challenges with recruiting CS teachers
  • Students:
    • Lack of access to CS courses, especially for under-represented students of color
  • Curricular:
    • Lacking overall CS curricular vision (course sequence and standards)
  • Tech:
    • Issues with distribution of laptops in the classroom; problems with students lacking access to computers in their homes

Addressing Critical Challenges

TEALS as Partial Solution

  • Members of the Working Group helped pilot the TEALS program in the 2014-2015 school year
    • TEALS Goal: rigorous computer science in every high school, taught by a teacher at the school
    • Model:
      • 2 courses: Intro CS and AP CS A
      • pair teams of industry volunteers with classroom teacher
      • gradual release of course content to teacher over 2 years (teacher lends classroom expertise)
      • 2 year commitment to teacher/volunteers commit to 1 year – involves planning, teaching, supporting students 1:1, grading, collaborating as part of a team
      • Started in 2009 in Seattle serving 1 school with 1 volunteer
        • in 2014-15, currently serving 140 schools in 21 states
        • partnered with 119 teachers
  • Expansion in OUSD:
  • 2014-2015
    • Castlemont HS – Claire Shorall
    • Community Day School – Jason Gray
  • 2015 – 2016
    • Castlemont HS
    • Community Day School
    • Fremont HS
    • Skyline HS

How can you get involved?

  • LPFI (lpfi.org)
    • Support our SMASH programs, hackathons
    • Volunteer as a speaker or host a tech event
  • TEALS (tealsk12.org)
    • Volunteer for classroom program
  • OUSD (ousd.k12.ca.us/Page/452)
    • If Oakland resident, write to your school board member to support CS (including endorsing Rosie’s policy) and attend school board meetings