KIPP Schools unanimously choose Code.org courses for computer science
Beginning in the 2019–2020 school year, KIPP Schools will include computer science in their curriculum for grades 8–12, and their panel of experts has unanimously selected Code.org’s CS Discoveries and CS Principles as their recommended courses.
This recommendation comes in conjunction with KIPP Foundation High School’s latest stated goals for computer science, which include having students complete at least two years of computer science instruction before graduation, providing all of their high school students with the opportunity to take AP Computer Science A, and all of their high schools meeting or exceeding the AP CS Principles exam national average passing rate of 70%.
Selecting a computer science curriculum was a process that began in the fall of 2017, when Code.org began presenting our CS Discoveries course for consideration to a committee of teachers and leaders from over 15 KIPP regions. After a pilot and rigorous selection process that included experts in teaching and computer science curriculum, the Code.org courses CS Discoveries and AP CS Principles were unanimously selected over other similar subject matter courses based on three major criteria: Curricular Design, Teacher Support, and Sustainability.
“Computer Science Discoveries is such an amazing program. The curriculum and training from Code.org was top notch. Students LOVE the tools provided (for free) by the curriculum like Web Lab, App Lab, and Game Lab and they learn by DOING, which is so powerful. Engagement is a non-issue!” - Emily McGrath, KIPP New Orleans
While we are honored to be selected and proud to be recognized for our quality curriculum and professional learning, what is most important is how these recommendations and goals will help increase the number of schools and diversity of students that have access to computer science. Based on KIPP Schools’ data, 95% of their students, roughly 91,000 students, are either African American or Latino, both traditionally underrepresented in computer science..
At Code.org we are humbled by the reception we’ve received among KIPP teachers. After implementing CS Discoveries for the 2018–2019 pilot year, 100% of KIPP teachers agreed that selecting Code.org’s CS Discoveries curriculum course was a good choice and when asked to rate how feasible the program was to learn and implement, teachers voted it a 9.6 out of 10.
“Our network of CS teachers are so much more confident in the ability to not only teach a CS course, but build a solid CS program that can thrive in their school after this training. I learned so much and had ample opportunities to learn and develop from others, and that will be beneficial in making our CS programs stronger. Our students deserve the best of opportunities in order to live choice-filled lives, and this opportunity is one of the best we can provide to them right now.” — George Ramirez, KIPP Austin
At Code.org, we’re always improving our courses and Professional Learning Program by building a community and listening to teachers, so as to best suit the needs of the classroom and students. And to ensure ubiquitous access to our curriculum and tools, they are web-based, cross-platform and will forever be free to use, which means more schools and foundations such as KIPP Schools can make high quality computer science curriculum a feasible priority.
Learn more about our courses, and apply to our professional development workshops to bring computer science to your own school today.
Carina Box, Code.org
