Connecticut Computer Science Teachers Association

Connecticut Computer Science Teachers Association (CTCSTA: www.ctcsta.org), a chapter of CSTA (www.csteachers.org), is a membership organization formed in 2004 to support CS teachers in Connecticut. It advocates for access to CS education for all students in K-12 and holds meetings to foster a professional learning community (PLC) among its members. It also supports local organizations and schools in CS-related activities. Membership is open to K-12 CS teachers, college CS faculty and any individual or group(s) in Connecticut that support(s) K-12 CS education. Our members are K-12 school teachers, college professors, administrators and other members of the educational community. CTCSTA members teach Advanced Placement Computer Science A (AP CS A), Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles (AP CS P), and other K-12 Computer Science (CS) courses including Code.org Fundamentals courses in schools. Through its advocacy efforts, CTCSTA has brought awareness of the developments in CS education to many Connecticut cities. It continues to support the Mobile CSP project in the training of teachers nationally, the Connecticut State Department of Education in promoting access to CS, and works to bring CS to all Connecticut districts. CTCSTA members provide after-school CS clubs, volunteer for local activities (including the Women in STEM-C activities for girls (https://goo.gl/VLKUGr), coach and support the Connecticut Regional Technovation Challenge (https://goo.gl/SV1RCl)), work with local libraries to run informal education activities, and support the Connecticut Science Center in bringing CS to girls. Our members also hold activities for parents and the wider community to enlighten them about CS including showing movies and providing hands on experience of CS. We also run extensive CSEdWeek activities. Our members serve as Code.org facilitators and Master teachers for the Mobile CSP project. CTCSTA encourages our members to apply for grants to support CS education. In fact, one of our members received a grant to bring Exploring Computer Science (ECS) to Connecticut. Another member runs the Random Hacks for Kindness Jr. (http://www.rhokjr.org/). CTCSTA is changing the experiences of students in the classroom through its encouragement of the use of cooperative learning structures to engage all students and provision of timely links to teacher resources. CTCSTA is currently supporting an ECEP-NSF funded landscape study of CS in Connecticut.