News

As many of us are hunkering down for winter, ECEP Summit season is in full blaze. In November and December this year, states like North Carolina, Florida, Hawaiʻi, Illinois, Oregon, and Pennsylvania hosted computer science (CS) education summits. What are State CS Summits? These are launchpad convenings organized by state education policymakers, educators, and advocates passionate about advancing computer science education for the students in their states. Hosting a State CS Summit is a pivotal step in the ECEP How to Change a State Model, as they help to gather and catalyze allies, promote equity and …

The State of CS Education Report is one resource for understanding the national CS education landscape and formulating actionable strategies. ECEP encourages states to leverage data to understand their unique needs, articulate their state-specific narratives emphasizing the importance of broadening participation in computing, and propel both local and national K-12 CS education objectives forward. ECEP does this primarily through the Common Metrics project, a collaborative that engages teams in data gathering, data analysis, data reporting, and data utilization that leads to an increase in evidence-based BPC advocacy, policy development, and implementation.

As you and your organizations sift through the State …

The Expanding Computing Education Pathways Alliance (ECEP), Code.org, and the Computer Science Teachers Association today released the 2023 State of Computer Science Education. Published annually, the report provides comprehensive analysis of national progress in computer science education, featuring national and state-level policy and implementation data with a focus on equity and diversity.

Building equitable pathways and broadening participation in K-12 computing for the “missing millions,” a concept coined to represent the number of people missing from STEM and CS pathways and careers as estimated by the National Science Foundation and the National Science Board, is at the …

Dedicated to our mission of broadening participation in computing, the ECEP Alliance hosted our inaugural ECEP Connect Virtual Summit on September 27, 2023, to provide all states with the opportunity to leverage ECEP resources and its network of state and national leaders in computer science education.

Our virtual event drew more than 100 attendees, representing 41 US states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and international participants interested in increasing the number and diversity of students in K-12 computing and computer science education. The virtual summit was open to non-member states and showcased the resources, networking opportunities, and best practices available …

The ECEP Alliance is hosting its inaugural ECEP Connect Virtual Summit on September 27th, 2023 from 1-6 PM ET. ECEP –  which supports 30 member states and territories efforts to broaden participation in K-16 computing – developed ECEP Connect as an initiative to extend the use of its resources to all states and U.S. territories. With the initiative’s summit theme of “plugging into CS policy, practices, and pathways”, the ECEP team will provide a much-needed collaborative space for all states to network, engage with ECEP resources, and share opportunities and obstacles associated with broadening participation in computing.

During the first half of 2023, the ECEP Alliance awarded 5 states with funds to carry out state-level broadening participation in computing (BPC) initiatives, referred to as co-sponsorships. Maryland, Georgia, Utah, Ohio, and North Carolina received co-sponsorships for projects aimed at expanding inclusion in K-12 computer science.

The co-sponsorships – which provide up to $15,000 for each project – are made possible by ECEP Alliance funding from the National Science Foundation and Google.org. Co-sponsorships are available to member states through a competitive application process on a quarterly basis. 

This year’s co-sponsored projects include the following initiatives:

• Maryland: Build and implement …

The ECEP Alliance is pleased to announce that Cydny Black has been named Marketing and Public Relations Lead for the Alliance. The position is first-of-its-kind for ECEP and was made possible via funding from Google.org. Cydny brings more than 15 years of research and communications experience to the team, and a vested interest in the intersections between storytelling, data, technology, and education. 

The ECEP Alliance successfully launched its latest stage of growth on May 2-3 at the 2023 ECEP Summit in Oakland, CA. Attendees included 144 representatives from 30 U.S. states and territories, including seven new states who joined ECEP this spring, making this the largest ECEP Summit yet. Collectively, the ECEP Alliance represents over 33 million K-12 students, or 68% of the student population of the nation.

The Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance is pleased to announce the acceptance of seven new member states, increasing our membership to 29 states and the territory of Puerto Rico. ECEP welcomes Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to our most recent cohort of states broadening participation in K-16 computing.

Andrea Wilson Vazquez joined the ECEP Alliance as the Deputy Director. Andrea will be working to support the ECEP Alliance's mission to increase the number and diversity of students in computing and computing-intensive pathways by developing and facilitating ECEP services and resources for state and national CS education leaders. Prior to joining the ECEP Leadership Team, Andrea worked as the Director of Educator Training and School Partnerships for a Minnesota-based nonprofit called Code Savvy. She has a passion for facilitating equity-focused computer science professional development and is experienced in strategic planning and resource development for K-12 computer science education programs. …