CS4NorCal in the Media

EdSource (April 9, 2025)

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

Top Takeaways:

Collaboration between districts and community organizations, including to mentor teachers, is the key to expanding the pool of educators to teach computer science.
Educational leaders must prioritize including computer science classes in course offerings.
Parents can play an important role in getting their children to take computer science classes and in pressuring administrators to offer the classes at their schools.
Read more of the article at this link.

EdSource (April 3, 2025)

California lawmaker again attempts to make
computer science class mandatory

Despite decades long efforts through legislation, funding and advocacy, California’s schools have still not caught up with — and are falling further behind — 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.

EdCal Magazine (March10, 2025)

California STEAM Symposium brings together and inspires educators

The 12th annual California STEAM Symposium took place Feb. 7-8 in San Diego, welcoming over 1,200 educators from across the world. Participants came together to explore strategies that promote lifelong learning for educators and their students through inclusive practices, STEAM resources and policies.

The STEAM Symposium is an annual gathering of TK-12 educators, higher education professionals, nonprofit and community-based organizations, and STEAM industry business partners. Attendees selected from the over 200 breakout sessions. These sessions were focused on the theme “You Belong In STEAM” and included an exploration of connecting instruction to real-world challenges through cross-content work to help students feel safe, known, supported and fully engaged in learning.

Read more of the story by clicking here.

KRCR
CS4NorCal teachers launch first Northstate aerial drone competition
February 15, 2025

REDDING, Calif. — Two local high school teachers have joined forces to introduce the first-ever aerial drone competition to the Northstate. Nineteen teams of middle and high school students from across the northstate, including participants from as far as Yreka, are set to compete at Foothill High School Saturday morning.

Sonsoles Abbott, a STEM teacher at the Tree of Life International Charter School, and Brett Hodge, a CTE engineering teacher at Foothill High School, collaborated to bring this innovative event to the area.

Read more of the story by clicking here.

Sacramento County Office Of Education Press Release
Global Education Experts Discuss Technology Best Practices: Department of State Showcases Technology Integration in Local Schools
November 8, 2024

CS4NorCal's professional learning designer and provider informed a delegation of visitors from 22 countries about the project during a recent national tour conducted by the Department of State. (Click on the link to the left to learn more.)

Engaging Communities in Innovative STEM Programs
A webinar sponsored by the Education Innovation and Research office of the federal Department of Education (September 12, 2024)

CS4NorCal's Modoc County CS Champion, Tanja Ramming, joined Project Director Kathy Hamilton and Co-Director Karen Mix as presenters for this webinar. During the webinar, current EIR grantees shared strategies they use to support effective community engagement, including strategies for engaging communities effectively when implementing STEM initiatives in rural/tribal places and approaches to common challenges around effective community engagement. Ms. Ramming shared the efforts of Advancing Modoc, in collaboration with RISE and MESA, to integrate computer science instruction in Modoc County Schools. Click on the webinar link to the right to listen to a recording.

The Modoc County Record (August 22, 2024)

MESA Summer Program Presents Careers in Hydrology - Modoc RecordThe RISE-MESA College Preparation (MCP) program concluded a year of water study with a four-day STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) on July 13-17, 2024. Thirty-two youth came to understand that water has a right to […]

EdCal Magazine (August 5, 2024)

Teaching educators the ABCs of computer science

Over 70 educators and administrators from across Northern California attended a computer science training June 10-14 at the University Preparatory School in Redding.

Over half the educators who attended were elementary teachers poised to inspire younger generations to learn more about coding, problem-solving and computational thinking. The other participants were middle school teachers and school administrators looking to expand their computer science skills.

“The workshop was challenging, packed with great information and well-run,” said Tony Chinchay, a middle school teacher from Butte County. “I enjoyed every aspect of it thoroughly, and I’m looking forward to the follow-up Zoom meetings throughout the year!”

In order to maximize access to high-quality professional learning and mitigate the barrier of lengthy travel, some of the Redding participants joined in virtually. The middle school participants, while physically present at University Preparatory School building along with a facilitator, were digitally linked to peers in Fresno and Contra Costa counties via Zoom.

“We were so happy with the outcome from the trainings — both having participants in person and online,” said Karen Mix, co-director of CS4NorCal. “It’s amazing to be able to work with small groups of educators to make computer science more accessible to all areas of our state, from cities and suburbia to the rural country schools.”

“When teachers teach computer science, they see a type of joy and satisfaction that students don’t show in any other classroom ... that’s because of the creativity and empowerment.”

— Hadi Partovi, CEO of Code.org Click here to read more

The Rural Voice, official podcast of the National Rural Education Association (April 16, 2024)

Computer Science in
Rural Education Curriculum

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode, we discuss rural initiatives to train students in computer science. We interviewed Ms. Karen Mix, the co-director of CS4NorCal, a five-year research grant. This program creates K-12 computer science training. CS4NorCal was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program and sponsored by SSDA to support Computer Science (CS) professional learning and instruction in rural Northern California. The project is currently building a model for computer science in rural schools. Ms. Mix discusses the role of partnerships within the six counties in Northern California with professional development for teachers and generating access for teachers to attend. We discussed how the various ways this program has supported computer science programs in rural schools. We discuss how schools can find funding for these programs and how partnerships can aid resources and education. We discuss how the curriculum can be implemented at various levels and programs.

EdCal Magazine (April 15, 2024)

The Spring into CS Summit, held March 16 in Redding, brought together computer science (CS) enthusiasts from around Northern California for an interactive day of professional development, networking and technology discovery. Participants were energized and excited to discuss computer science concepts and evolving CS standards for K-12 classrooms.

The event (hosted by the Butte County Office of Education in partnership with CS4NorCal and Stanislaus County Office of Education) was filled to capacity with over 100 computer enthusiasts in attendance. Educators learned new strategies for teaching computer science, at every grade and age level, while engaging with the latest trends and technology, specifically with a focus on access and inclusion in rural areas.

“The event was a great overview of computer science, and it planted seeds for teachers that may have never tried CS in their classrooms,” said participant Julie Kim, 4th Grade Math & Homeschool Teacher at Redding School of the Arts.

The Plumas Sun (April 6, 2024)

Computer science educators gather at regional summit

The Spring into CS Summit, held March 16 in Redding, brought together computer science enthusiasts from around Northern California — including Plumas County — for an interactive day of professional development, networking and technology discovery. Organizers reported that participants were energized and excited to discuss computer science concepts and evolving CS standards for K-12 classrooms.

The event was hosted by the Butte County Office of Education in partnership with CS4NorCal and Stanislaus County Office of Education and welcomed over 100 computer enthusiasts in attendance. Educators learned new strategies for teaching computer science at every grade and age level, while engaging with the latest trends and technology, specifically with a focus on access and inclusion in rural areas.

Highlights included a keynote address by Adam Welcome and presentations by Kat Goyette, the computer science coordinator for the California Department of Education. Nikki Navta from Code.org, and Jake Carr and Nathan Collins, hosts of the podcast “What Teachers Have to Say,” also spoke and shared the need for computer science. Read more here.

KRCR TV in Redding (January 30, 2024)

Tree of Life upgrades curriculum with robotics | KRCRThe Tree of Life Charter School in Anderson is helping their students get a bit more creative with a brand new robotics program.The school received a $3,000 gra

Sonsoles Abbott, the teacher featured in this television story, participated in the Computer Science Integration workshop held in Redding in September and October 2023. She also is an active participant in the CSTA Far North Chapter.

Three other teachers and the principal from Tree of Life International Charter School in Anderson, Shasta County, also have participated in CS4NorCal's professional learning program.

Small School Districts' Association magazine (Summer 2023)

2023 SSDA Today - CS4NorCal Expands to Assist Rural Schools in Northern California.pdf

ACSA EdCal: Family Code Night a Success (March 6, 2023)

Family Code Night a successNumerous families recently participated in CS4NorCal Family Code Night, which was held virtually and in person across six counties in Northern California.

KRCR Channel 7: Free computer science and coding lessons for children K-8 (Dec. 6, 2022)

Free computer science and coding lessons for children K-8Family Code Night has arrived in the Northstate and is helping kids, and their families, learn more about computer science and coding.

Mt. Shasta News: 24 Things to Do in Redding Area, Siskiyou before it's 2023 (Nov. 22, 2022)

24 things to do in Redding area, Siskiyou before it's 2023See a list of holiday concerts and plays, outdoor activities and other things to do in the North State while it's still 2022.

ACSA EdCal: Schools Preparing Events for Computer Science Week (Oct. 31, 2022)

Schools preparing events for Computer Science Week, Dec. 5-11Sacramento COE and CS4NorCal will each host a Family Code Night event, where students and families can explore computer science from home or at their school.

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