New EDC Toolkit Helps Districts Create Middle School CS Ed Programs

EDC has published the new Programming the Acceleration of Computing Education Toolkit, which provides school districts with a step-by-step process to launch and sustain high-quality hands-on computer science (CS) programs in their middle schools. The toolkit is available both in an interactive online format and as a downloadable resource.

The toolkit was developed by EDC’s Programming the Acceleration of Computing Education (PACE) team. PACE is working to ensure all middle school students have access to meaningful and engaging CS learning opportunities that give them the firm grounding in CS they will need for workforce success. The project is a collaboration between EDC and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Education Innovation and Research program.

Drawing upon EDC’s lessons learned from six Massachusetts districts that have been piloting the PACE model since 2020, the toolkit guides districts through a three-year process to implement a CS program.

“We designed PACE  to put teachers, district staff, and students themselves at the core of building a computer science program at their schools,” says EDC principal investigator Joyce Malyn-Smith, who leads the PACE program. “Their vital insights inform every page of this toolkit, which we hope serves as a model for districts across the United States.”

Research has indicated that access to CS in high school increases young peoples’ economic prospects. However, many middle schools struggle to provide foundational opportunities for CS learning because of a lack of staff capacity and the complexity of integrating a new subject matter into instruction.

The PACE model addresses this, says Malyn-Smith, by “building capacity at multiple levels with districts and schools to support adoption of CS as an important component of middle school education. Strategic planning and collaboration are key to overcoming some of the persistent barriers to CS education in middle school.”

The toolkit features:

• Step-by-step guidance to ensure successful implementation of the PACE model
• Resources for setting up District Stakeholder Councils to drive implementation
• Details about “key levers” that can speed up or slow down implementation of computer science in middle schools
• A robust hub of CS education resources

We invite you to learn more about EDC’s STEM Education and Workforce Development initiatives.