A primary goal of the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance is to serve as a locus, connecting the national CSEd community in conversations that drive broadening participation in computing (BPC). This spring and summer, ECEP has doubled down on that role by collaborating with other national organizations to host events that bring together diverse constituencies in the service of BPC.

In May, ECEP co-located the 2024 ECEP Summit with the RESPECT conference in Atlanta, GA. This year’s ECEP Summit, Datapalooza, focused on developing shared data systems for identifying underserved populations in K-12 computer science, collecting, analyzing, and visualizing that data, and using data to guide goal setting around BPC. ECEP’s Common Metrics Project, or CMP, which has to date supported 23 state teams in four cohorts to collaborate on the development of common metrics for measuring and tracking BPC efforts, laid the foundation for the next level discussions that Datapalooza facilitated. In particular, the Datapalooza event fostered collaboration among ECEP states around the effective use of data dashboards to advance BPC goals. Examples of ECEP state CS data dashboards can be found on the ECEP website. 

Quiana Bannerman, Director of the Maryland Center for Computing education, described her Datapalooza experience as “a great opportunity to learn about innovative BPC computer science education initiatives and programs and connect with other educators. My professional network and understanding of the field grew immensely. It was a transformative experience."

More recently, ECEP cohosted the State CS Supervisors meeting at the annual CSTA conference in Las Vegas along with CSTA and Code.org. Twenty-five individuals representing 14 states were in attendance and had the opportunity to dive deeply into topics such as CSTA’s Reimaging CS Pathways project, TeachAI, and all the various resources available for state strategic planning and execution from the ECEP Alliance. 

Jaci McCune, Deputy Director of the ECEP Alliance, commented on the benefits of the event: “As a former State CS Supervisor, I know first hand the valuable impact of these convenings. Sharing challenges and discussing successful strategies with CS Supervisors across the country has created a stronger community working towards a similar goal of broadening computing education opportunities for all students. This year’s meeting exemplifies the power of connecting with national CSEd champions to advance mutual BPC goals.”