We expect all teachers to commit to attending. But in case of an emergency or sickness, teachers will have access to the recordings of the virtual zoom sessions. Mentors will be available to help teachers catch up with the course materials. All course materials will be available on our web repository.

The partnering school districts will support their educators in attending professional learning and commit to expanding K–12 CS education through establishing new courses, infusing CS in existing courses, or promoting extra-curricular CS related activities.

Participating teachers will gain knowledge and experience in delivering CS in the classroom and will prepare lesson plans for their grades that they will use to teach CS. After the completion of the program, teachers should continue to implement/incorporate lesson plans and activities learned and the school districts should support their teachers in this effort to ensure that all K-12 students gain access to CS education. This is a requirement of the NJDOE to expand access and promote equitable access to CS to all K-12 students.

The FDU CS Hub will provide resources to schools and school districts to assist in expanding CS education across grades K–12 in the classroom or through extra-curricular activities. The FDU CS Hub will continue to serve the LEAs beyond the life of the project by means of the STEM Institute of Education and the Web Repository of content material and lesson plans, along with innovative tools that teachers can access for use in the classroom.

A representative from each participating school district will be required to attend quarterly steering committee meetings during the grant period. Some or all meetings may be held virtually in accordance with health and safety guidelines.

Recommendations of participating teachers from partner LEAs to engage in NJDOE-led CS working groups. The recommendation must include one teacher from each of the following grade bands: K–2, 3–5, 6–8, 9–12. LEAs will have to identify one lead teacher from each grade band K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 to attend these meetings.

As part of the project, teachers will share the lesson plans that they develop and their students’ achievements on the FDU CS Hub web repository.

It is expected that lead teachers will provide appropriate mentoring and guidance to teachers who are interested in teaching CS but did not participate in the program. The school districts are expected to support and promote concepts and practices acquired/learned during the professional development workshops.

After the completion of all PD sessions, participating teachers will receive a $850 stipend, a tablet, and a certificate.

Faculty and student mentors will be available throughout the year to provide mentoring and support

No prior experience in computer science or mathematics is required for participation in the program.

FDU will provide a template for assessment (survey) that teachers will use to assess students’ experiences.