Computing in the Core

I am in Washington DC attending a meeting of the Computing in the Core Coalition. Although the Anita Borg Institute focuses on college level and beyond, it has always been important to ABI to support and partner appropriately with organizations that change and positively impact the entire pipeline.

Last year the Anita Borg Institute joined the Computing in the Core coalition – joining ACM, NCWIT, CSTA, CRA, Microsoft, SAS and Google – in an effort to impact the National Education Policy agenda to include rigorous and engaging Computing Education. This effort is led by ACM staff member Cameron Wilson.

Why do I think we need such a coalition? Although there are many STEM efforts in the K-12 space, Computer Science is often an afterthought in their efforts. Since Computer Science is not present in many high schools at all (even in the math classes), this is an important reason why so many entry level college students do not consider a Computing major, even though the job opportunities in Computing are growing rapidly. Historically, every discipline has a presence in Washington, and in my opinion this is the right effort.

The Coalition is responsible for CS Education Week. Yesterday, the coalition sponsored a briefing on Capital Hill, which had about 50 people in attendance. Impacting legislation takes time, but with this coalition, we are building momentum for change.