County
CCBE’s 2021 hybrid conference explores new computer science education initiative and more

A record-setting 177 county education leaders registered for CCBE’s 2021 Annual Conference from Sept. 10–12 at the Hyatt Regency Monterey. About 50 registrants attended virtually in the organization’s first hybrid conference. Conference committee chair and CCBE President-elect Joe Ross of the San Mateo County Office of Education credited CCBE and CSBA staff for “making the event run so smoothly.”

The conference kicked-off with the “Pure Politics” keynote panel with Capitol Advisors representatives Kevin Gordon, Jack O’Connell and Barrett Snider. Four days prior to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recall election, O’Connell shared his opinion on what the outcome, one way or the other, could mean for public schools.

While discussing the future of education funding in an era of statewide declining enrollment, Snider said local educational agencies are “going to need to change the hearts and minds of the public” if they are going to convert to a different allocation formula, such as funding based on enrollment.

The panel also discussed the problems school districts and COEs are facing with independent study for quarantined students. “The legislature fell short in providing a comprehensive approach to solve the problem,” Snider said. “Independent study wasn’t scalable.”

The second day of the conference began with the annual CCBE general membership meeting and breakfast. Members heard reports from CCBE President Rick Shea, Legislative Committee Chair and CCBE Immediate Past President Janet Wohlgemuth of Monterey COE, and the conference committee chair.

Emily Thomforde, a computer science curriculum expert, told members about CCBE’s Computer Science in California Schools project. She will lead the project and create an online computer science toolkit to aid in equitable implementation and increase access for underserved students. (More to come on this project in the November newsletter.)

Find the online toolkit at www.ccbe.us.

Attendees gave high praise to the Saturday luncheon plenary session on the state of children’s mental health with Stanford University psychiatrists Dr. Steven Adelsheim and Dr. Shashank Joshi, who both have been working with the San Mateo and Santa Clara COEs.

“Schools and teachers are facing an unprecedented level of psychological distress,” said Joshi. “Students that weren’t getting what they needed before the pandemic are worse off.”

“Half of all mental illness appears before age 14. But there’s a lack of services for that age group,” added Adelsheim “We’re now trying to build support on a system that has been so underfunded and one word for so long. How do we ensure we’re using the new dollars most effectively?”

”The reason the field is so segregated is because schools serving low-income students and students of color tend to be technology-rich, but curricula-poor. The curriculum tends to focus on rudimentary skills. Schools serving higher-income students have true computer science curriculum.”
Allison Scott,
CEO of the Kapor Center

Joshi said if he were to design an ideal system, he would have the basic infrastructure so that every school would have staff that understands mental health. “Teachers would understand it, and not just leave it to the mental health staff,” Joshi said.

He added that he would have a clinical services director at every school site and at least five therapists at every high school.

Adelsheim’s ideal system would identify children who are at risk early, use evidence-based programs in all the schools and link students and teachers to community supports.

Equitable computer science instruction

The conference’s closing keynote event featured Allison Scott, CEO of the Kapor Center and Julie Flapan of the UCLA Computer Science Equity Project and co-director of CSforCA on how to achieve equitable access to computer science education for underserved students.

The speakers emphasized that computer science education isn’t simply teaching how to use technology, it’s about converting consumers of technology to developers of technology. “The homogeneity of the tech workforce is also contributing to growing inequality,” said Scott. “The reason the field is so segregated is because schools serving low-income students and students of color tend to be technology-rich, but curricula-poor. The curriculum tends to focus on rudimentary skills. Schools serving higher-income students have true computer science curriculum.”

Flapan provided 10 actions that county board members can take to increase equity in CS education:

  1. Increase your awareness of the computer science education landscape by subscribing to and becoming a member of CSforCA. Stay informed by following @CSforCA on Twitter.
  2. Examine your county’s and district’s computer science education equity gaps using the CSforCA data tool and allocate resources to areas with greatest need.
  3. Leverage funding from the Local Control Funding Formula, COVID-19 recovery and career technical education to support computer science education.
  4. Identify a computer science lead in your COE and connect them with a community of practice/research-practice partnership.
  5. Develop partnerships with local industry to offer students internships and other work-based learning opportunities.
  6. Expand your LEA’s and others’ capacity to support computer science by reviewing the CSforCA Equity Implementation Guide for administrators implementing equity-minded computer science in their schools, districts or counties.
  7. Attend and host a “Summer of CS” week of professional learning in your region for teachers, counselors and administrators.
  8. Support implementation of computer science in court and community schools.
  9. Advocate and inform your district boards, parents/community and elected officials to support equity in computer science education.
  10. Increase awareness among families and students of computer science pathways in your county.

Conference attendees also participated in a variety of workshops throughout the conference.

CCBE’s Annual Conference was made possible by the support of its sponsors: Capitol Advisors Group, LLC, California Charter Schools Authorizers, Footsteps 2 Brilliance and Zoom CEO Eric Yuan.