The Summer of CS Wiki

This guide is designed for districts or county offices of education interested in hosting a week-long multi-stakeholder professional development experience focused on implementing equity-minded computer science (CS).

The Sacramento Office of Education, in conjunction with the CSforCA coalition, developed this model of professional development building on the work of several partners. Summer of CS was inspired by the CSPDWeeks hosted by the Colorado School of Mines, which included workshops offered by Exploring Computer Science (ECS), MobileCSP, and Bootstrap, as well as Code.org’s TeacherCon. These week-long experiences have made a significant impact on the K-12 Computer Science landscape by supporting teachers from across the nation. However, counselors, administrators, curriculum specialists and other stakeholders have been unable to participate in these workshops. Moreover, the national scope of previous CSPDWeeks limit the opportunity for regional collaboration. While recognizing the roots of CSPDWeek, the Summer of CS was designed for regional implementation and to include multiple stakeholders.

The intent of this document is not to suggest that the Summer of CS should be replicated; rather, it is intended to inspire iterations of the concept that focus on meeting the needs of a specific region. We would like to thank the participants and facilitators of the 2019 Summer of CS who brought so much energy and engagement to the week, as well as sharing with us their ideas for how we can improve upon this PD model.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant #1837780. We would like to thank the Computer Science Teachers Association for generous support to help make the Summer of CS possible through a Chapter Grant for the CSTA Sacramento Chapter. Additional partners, including Code.org, Exploring Computer Science, National Center for Women and Information Technology, Palo Alto Networks, Google CS First, and Lego for Education were critical to the success of the event.

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant # 1837780.

Creating a Vision and Developing Goals

The vision for the Summer of CS was centered on two key beliefs:

1. CS education opportunities should be made available to all students, especially those underrepresented in computing.

2. Educators are professionals that deserve a high-quality event.

These beliefs helped guide our decision-making processes as a team and guided the structure of the event.

Workshop Alignment

The process of selecting the workshop offerings for the Summer of CS was deliberate to include a workshop for each grade band identified in the California K-12 Computer Science Standards. Larger CSPDWeek events have included a multitude of workshops. While this supports teacher agency and subject integration, a regional workshop must plan to serve a finite number of teachers.

Up for a Challenge? Offer a Summer of CS in Your Region!

The Summer of CS was a week-long and comprised of six different workshops, offered to five different audiences (elementary, middle, and high school teachers, counselors, and administrators), coming from all over the state of California (and even from other states). These factors made it a complicated event to host, and it took several months and human hours to pull off. So why should a district or county office of education do this?

• Belief in CS education - Our belief in the need for scaling of quality CS education for students of all demographics across California was the main driver in developing this PD.

• Reputation - The Summer of CS brought teachers, administrators, and counselors from across the state of California (as well as outside of the state). It brought visibility to SCOE, demonstrating our dedication to CS education and our capability in delivering quality PD.

• Sustainability - The revenue generated from the Summer of CS provided funds that allow us to continue supporting our county in growing CS education.