How districts can increase student access to computer science | Quick Guide

In spite of statewide initiatives to increase access to and participation in computer science classes, California lags behind the national average of 60% and trails about three dozen other states in the percentage of high schools offering at least one computer science course. 

According to the national 2024 State of Computer Science report:

• 52% of high schools across California offered computer science in the 2023-24 school year.
• Students who are female, belong to an ethnic minority group, live in rural areas and small towns or attend schools serving predominantly low-income students are less likely to attend schools offering computer science classes.
• Policies in other states have expanded student access to computing skills and closed racial, gender, geographic and socioeconomic gaps.

Advocates say that in addition to legislative action, districts and communities can and should take the following steps to increase access to and enrollment in computer science. 

Start with teachers

Julie Flapan, co-director for Computer Science for California (CSforCA), said proper teacher preparation is the first step in computer science education. 

“Part of that means sending a teacher to professional learning. Not only do they learn the curriculum and pedagogy, but they’re part of an ongoing community of practice to feel supported in teaching computer science,” Flapan said.

Local, regional or statewide collaborative spaces where educators can learn from and support one another are crucial for teachers who are the only computer science instructors in their schools. 

Teacher collaboration is key in small, rural districts or schools, where there may only be one educator trying to integrate computer science, said Tracey Allen, who has worked with rural districts across Northern California for Seasons of CS, California’s year-round computer science professional learning and training program.

“They might be the only science teacher that’s trying to integrate computer science, or they’re the only math teacher on site,” Allen said. “It’s kind of hard to have a robust conversation with yourself if you’re the only one in that content area.” 

How do schools or districts find interested teachers? 

Karen Mix, co-director for the federal CS4NorCal grant under the Small School Districts’ Association, said recruiting teachers requires developing relationships. 

“I pop into schools and meet teachers,” she said. “Answer questions that they may have, show them the benefits and the values of computer science and how they can use it and encourage them to go to the training. One of our teachers — I had to pop into their school and talk to him and their principal maybe four or five times before we got them on board.” 

Do teachers need to have a background in computer science? 

In 2016, the state passed legislation allowing educators in other disciplines to pursue computer science certification with required coursework. 

Though a leader in computer science advocacy, Allen in Northern California was a multiple-subject credentialed teacher with no background in the subject. 

“You don’t need a background in computer science to begin learning about computer science and find easy entry points to start implementing or integrating it into your classroom for the benefit of your students,” she said. 

Beyond professional development, how can schools and districts support teachers? 

State and federal grant funding for computer science initiatives created ongoing professional learning. For that to continue after grant funding expires, Allen said, districts and schools can connect with county offices or other districts that are already doing the work.

“We are strapped for time,” she said. “Don’t feel like you have to create the wheel or that you have to be the one to put a resource bank together for your teachers. Reach out to other colleagues and tap into professional learning that’s already happening.

“I think sharing resources, sharing professional learning opportunities, will be key.”

CS4NorCal has even created and regularly updates an implementation dashboard — an interactive online tool — that will allow educators and school leaders to explore ways to implement computer science through the different approaches being used elsewhere. 

And advocates emphasize the importance of connecting with local community partners. 

Collaboration with community groups is vital, too

In the 2018-19 school year, Modoc County high schoolers had no access to any computer science courses, but nonprofits and community organizations participated in training opportunities to better collaborate in the development of computer science. The nonprofit Advancing Modoc, which eventually began leading course implementation, recruited staff to support the initiative. 

Partnerships can broaden access and participation not just in computer science concepts but in basic digital and technological skills.

“Partnerships where you actually bring in subject matter experts like ourselves into classrooms can augment and help,” said Damon Thomas, co-founder of Quiq Labs, a tech education company that teaches students science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics (STEAM) through enrichment programs. 

‘Be creative with your master schedule’ 

“You have to really have that administrator in your building or in your district being a support for you,” Mix, the co-director for the CS4NorCal grant, said. 

It’s school and district leaders who determine what classes are offered on a school’s master schedule.

So, no matter how much professional development teachers receive, it goes nowhere if computer science isn’t prioritized in schools, said Rudy Escobar who has provided professional development and offered family engagement in his roles in Stanislaus County, the Central Valley and statewide. 

School and district leaders must balance the availability of courses required to graduate with non-mandatory but needed classes that can, undoubtedly, prepare students for life after high school. But many administrators are reluctant or unable to prioritize a subject that isn’t explicitly a part of the state’s dashboard, the requirements that are used to measure and hold districts accountable for student progress toward college and career readiness. 

“We have to really change the mindsets of site and district administrators, and even superintendents, to be able to see this as a priority,” Escobar said.

Computer science advocates urge leaders to be creative with their master schedules and balance what courses they offer.

For example, in rural Siskiyou county in far Northern California, a kindergarten teacher on a half-day schedule teaches computer science as an afternoon elective in other elementary grades, Mix said. 

Likewise, the small, rural Modoc County created a middle school coding class in the 40 minutes between 2:40 p.m. (when classes end) and 3:30 p.m. (when buses arrive).

“Just be creative with your master schedule,” Mix said.

How can administrators justify adding a class? 

Kathy Hamilton with the Small School Districts’ Association acknowledged that small, rural schools and districts lack resources and credentialed teachers to offer computer science courses, and students may have no interest or awareness of the value of such classes. 

“It’s a long-term strategy, but you have to build up the interest, build up the pressure, in grades K-8 so that by the time the kids get to high school, there’s a demand for the course, and then the principal can justify providing the assignment in the master schedule to offer a course,” Hamilton said. 

Escobar recommends that administrators open up opportunities for teachers to integrate, or merge computer science into another subject area, to expose students to computer science in middle and elementary grades. 

“Start early,” he said. “Make it a consistent thing that the students are seeing every year, so that way, when they get to high school, students are seeking to take those courses.”

What resources are available to school and district administrators? 

Administrators remain concerned about how to implement computer science courses, especially if it becomes a requirement.  

According to Flapan, the co-director for CSforCA, several organizations, many of which have received grant funding, have provided resources, including learning guides on how to implement computer science.

“There’s a lot of statewide resources and a lot of momentum and expertise in computer science in the state of California,” she said. “All of these folks are interested in helping to guide and support other administrators that are looking for ways to implement computer science in their schools.”

How parents can help 

“Parents want computer science when they hear what we talk to them about,” Escobar said, and they can advocate for computer science to be a priority in their school district. 

“Statewide, we’re seeing that even though there are more computer science classes being offered, that the classes themselves aren’t always representative of the student body in the schools they serve,” Flapan said. 

“How do we make sure that students of color and girls are taking advantage of those opportunities? We think that parents can play a strong role in encouraging their students to take it if they have a better understanding of why it’s important and how it could help them in their post-high school plans — whether it’s college or careers or  just engaging in their communities.”