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. …

The ECEP Alliance is pleased to announce the release of a Request for Applications for new state membership in ECEP. Currently, ECEP consists of 22 states and the territory of Puerto Rico. Supported by funding from Google.org and NSF, ECEP will be adding seven additional states to the Alliance. The goal of our alliance is to help states improve equitable capacity for, access to, participation in, and experiences of quality computing education and pursue systemic change at the state level that will result in more diverse students pursuing educational paths in computer science.

We wanted to go big for the 2022 Computer Science Education Week. In 2022, ECEP turned 10! With 10 years of experience in building state-level capacity to address the lack of diversity in K-16 computer science and computing pathways, we are building towards the future of computer science education. In order to meet the needs of states working to address systemic barriers, the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance is hiring!

Surveying the landscape of computer science education is a key stage in ECEP’s 5 Stage Model for State Change. As of 2022, 65% of our states have produced at least one landscape report. These reports help states identify not just data but other resources to develop strategic plans that drive CS education policy and advocacy efforts.

ECEP leaders have had a busy summer sharing our expertise and resources with colleagues across the nation at various conferences. This dissemination work began with the Code.org Advocacy Coalition’s State Computer Science Supervisors meeting. This annual gathering of state CS supervisors always yields new ideas in CS advocacy and uncovers state-level actions that are driving CS education initiatives across the United States. Two conferences specifically aimed at CS educators — the WeTeach_CS Summitin Texas and the national Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) 2022 Annual Conference in Chicago — brought ECEP’s mission and resources to K-12 teachers.