Efforts to Bring Computer Science to High Schools Locally

Partner4CS is a non-profit organization centered in Delaware trying to bring a high quality computer science classes to middle schools and high schools.  This program hopes to broaden participation in computing, increase awareness of computer science and its impact on the world around us, and increase enthusiasm for computer science.  Professors and undergraduates at the University of Delaware are working side by side to make this goal a reality.  These people volunteer their time to teach the fundamentals of computing to students in grades 6-12.  

While partner4CS is currently in its first year, other programs like it have already initiated the school reform.  In a case study on school reform, Jane Margolis and Joanna Goode worked alongside the rest of the Exploring Computer Science team to implement a prerequisite to the AP CS course in various high schools in the Los Angeles area.  This case study reached out to 7 high schools and almost 300 students.  
After recording data from pre and post class surveys, results showed that students were more likely to stick with a difficult problem, and they were less likely to seek out answers from a superior.  Further, students reported that they were more likely to consider computer science as an academic major after enrolling in the course.  Many students even learned applications of computer science that cross over into different fields and learned how important these skills are for their future. After taking the class, one student noted:

"I plan to pursue a career in either Pediatrics or Biomedical Engineering and the problem solving techniques as well as the programming tips are definitely useful for my future career plans."

[See a full list of student testimonials here]

This data bodes well for the future implementation of computer science courses around the nation.  It suggests that computer science increases student’s eagerness to learn and it boosts their confidence to tackle tough problems.

This high school reform has been very successful in the past, and it can be just as successful in the future too.  In order to be able to scale this up to the national level, high schools need accept computer science as a highly valuable class in make room for it in the schedule currently centered around core classes as defined by the NCLB act.  This reform could ultimately provide a vital boost to our economy by filling the major void in the field of computing and other STEM related fields.