Cheri Fancsali is Research Director at the Research Alliance for New York City Schools. Dr. Fancsali has over two decades of experience in research and evaluations of school- and community-based educational programs that target underserved youth, with a strong focus on teacher effectiveness and professional development, school reform initiatives, STEM, afterschool programs, and socio-emotional learning. The Research Alliance for NYC Schools is conducting an evaluation of the NYC CS4All initiative – a 10-year, million public-private partnership between the City of New York and the private sector, designed to bring computer science education to every student in NYC public schools. The evaluation will answer important questions about the implementation and impact of CS4All for NYC students, schools, and teachers. The study will examine how the initiative is being rolled out in schools across the City, as well as how professional development is being organized, how it is being accessed by teachers, and how it is shaping their classroom practices. We will also measure short- and long-term student outcomes, including computer science knowledge and skills, as well as other measures of academic achievement, engagement, and non-cognitive outcomes, such as students’ sense of belonging and their awareness of computing careers and applications. The evaluation will focus on understanding how CS4All affects different groups of students, particularly those who are typically underrepresented in computer science and other STEM fields (e.g., girls and students of color). Research methods will include interviews, surveys, and document reviews, along with analyses of teachers’ participation in professional development and data on students’ characteristics, course taking, and outcomes. Researchers will also conduct in-depth case studies in a subset of schools to understand more about how CS4All is being implemented and how the initiative is influencing school communities, teachers, and students. Lessons learned from the evaluation will support the ongoing implementation of CS4All in NYC, and provide knowledge to help inform similar efforts in other cities.
