Broward County Public Schools (BCPS), the nation’s sixth largest public school district with a diverse population of greater than 275,000 students, has several models of integration of computer science into the curriculum, with deliberate attention to providing computer science instruction and extracurricular opportunities for all students: • At the elementary level, some schools are integrating computational thinking and computer science in the classroom as well as offering computer science and STEM as special electives for all students. • With .25 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, we are working to develop models for best integration of STEM and computer science in the elementary school to reach all students through the standard curriculum. This work has begun and will be widely disseminated as we have results. • In the middle school, we are providing mathematics and science teachers with professional development and curriculum to integrate computer science instruction with their content instruction in mathematics and science. • Additionally, eight (8) middle schools are piloting high school level introductory computer science as an elective for eighth graders. • At the high school level, we offer computer science courses at all high schools and have built a progression of courses from introductory computer science leading up to college level programming. • Students at all levels are engaged through in curricular and extracurricular applications of computer science towards physical computing through app development, robotics, drones and other applications. BCPS has learned that the engagement of the entire community is essential to effectively implementing large curricular change, such as implementation of computer science. In order to move forward with computer science education district-wide, we are driven by the goals to educate, advocate and cultivate: • Educate - provide students well-trained, supported teachers. • Advocate - afford every student the opportunities provided by high-quality, rigorous Computer Science instruction. • Cultivate - build a community of support for Computer Science that bridges and connects schools to careers. More information is available at http://browardschools.com/browardcodes.
