Second annual computer science education week spotlights importance of computer science to the future of education, innovation

• 
  Talk to teachers, principals and schools boards to call for quality courses
  
• 
  Visit with students to talk about career opportunities in computing
  
• 
  Use social networks to distribute CSEdWeek resources and tools
  
• 
  Host local celebrations and events highlighting computing’s impact
  

To date, the CSEdWeek site has registered more than 1,000 pledges of support by organizations such as Department of Homeland Security, National STEM Video Game Challenge, Dot Diva and Microsoft Research. Groups around the country are also organizing events, such as:

• 
  Fullerton, CA: A computer science class is taking a field trip to Raytheon.
  
• 
  Woodridge, IL: A teacher in is starting a tech club in her junior high school.
  
• 
  New York, NY: The ACM Student Chapter at The City University of New York (CUNY) is visiting the CUNY High Performance Computing Center.
  
• 
  Asheboro, NC: A middle school is distributing donated computers, repaired and maintained by the school’s computer club, to families who do not currently have a computer at home.
  
• 
  East Hampton, MA: Fifty technology- and accounting- focused high school students are touring the Microsoft Corporation in Cambridge, MA.
  

CSEdWeek is a joint effort led by a broad coalition of associations, corporations, governmental entities and other non-profits including the ACM, CSTA, the National Science Foundation, the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), Boston’s PBS station WGBH, Computing Research Association, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, Microsoft, Google Inc., SAS, Intel and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

• 
  Inclusion of rigorous computer science in the definition of STEM within the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report, Prepare and Inspire: K-12 Education in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) for America’s Future http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-stemed-report.pdf ;
  

• 
  The formation of Computing in the Core, a non-partisan advocacy coalition dedicated to influencing federal and state policy; and
  
• 
  The introduction of the Computer Science Education Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
  

“Effective computer science education means far more than learning how to use a computer—it is about computational thinking —problem decomposition, data analysis, and solution design—all of which can be incorporated across disciplines and benefit students with interests outside of computer science,” said Chris Stephenson, Executive Director of CSTA. “But we know that until we eliminate the roadblocks to quality computer science education, we are denying access to important skills and future opportunities."

“The business community has a role to play in supporting the creation of educational resources that make direct connections between what is taught in schools and the skills needed in our top industries,” said Maggie Johnson, Director of Education and University Relations, Google Inc. “Support of CSEdWeek and the creation of resources such as our new Computational Thinking http://www.google.com/edu/computational-thinking/index.html initiative are a vital part of our deep commitment to education and the nation’s future workforce.”

CSEdWeek was endorsed by the U.S. House of Representatives to acknowledge the critical role computer science education plays in K-12 and in higher education.