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New Report Shows Slow Progress for Diversity in California's Computer Science ProgramsOAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Kapor Center, the non-profit focused on expanding access to STEM education and building diversity in the tech industry, and the Computer Science for California (CSforCA) coalition released their 2021 California Computer Science Access report, a summary of the state of computer science (CS) education for K-12 students in California. The report examines access to computer science education by demographics including race, gender, income, and geographical region. Among its top findings, the report reveals:
The tech industry is an economic powerhouse in California, where 1.88 million professionals are employed in the sector and $520 billion is generated in output. Yet, the tech sector in California is not repreentative of the state's demographics and continues to largely exclude talent and perspectives from Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities. "It is imperative that we prioritize investing at both the local and state level in the equitable expansion of computer science education," says Kapor Center CEO, Allison Scott, Ph.D. "The introduction of computational skills is critical for preparing all students to participate in a tech-driven economy, and is key to developing a diverse future tech workforce for the state." According to Julie Flapan, Director of the UCLA Computer Science Equity Project, "California is moving in the right direction to expand access to these foundational learning opportunities, but we can't just stay the course. We need to double down on prioritizing the needs of communities most underrepresented — girls, low-income students, students of color and rural areas." She adds, "We have an urgent need to supply and diversify our teacher workforce while building the capacity among all educators to engage our students in high quality computer science that will help prepare them for college, careers, and democratic participation." The report concludes with a series of policy recommendations, including calls to invest in the training of a diverse CS teacher workforce, develop improved incentive structures for CS educators, and prioritize computational learning goals across K-12 content areas and as a graduation requirement. To read the full 2021 California Computer Science Access report, please visit kaporcenter.org/our-work/research. About Kapor Center About CSforCA Contact: View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-report-shows-slow-progress-for-diversity-in-californias-computer-science-programs-301386844.html SOURCE Kapor Center |