CS4NorthCal Project

CS4NorthCal is an NSF-funded project under the CS4All program that supports the learning of Computer Science courses for K-12 teachers. The grant provides funding for CS4NorthCal to expand and scale CSforAll work to Northern California through collaborations with universities and school districts/COEs.

The project is supported by 4 universities, research partners, County Offices of Education, School Districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, and evaluators.

To scale up CS4SF (previous project) for preparation, professional development, and ongoing support of high school CS teachers in Northern California.

The CS4NorthCal Project consists of faculty from 4 California State University institutions as well as research partners, evaluators, and K-12 county offices and schools. 

One of the projects that is funded through the CS4NorthCal program is the Supplementary Authorization program at San Francisco State University.

Supplementary authorizations allow the holder to add one or more subjects to his or her teaching credential, so the holder is authorized to teach a class in a subject outside the area in which he or she earned a credential.

To obtain a supplementary authorization in Computer Science (CS), an individual must complete a series of CS courses identified by California Commission on Teacher Credentialing at a regionally accredited institution. 

CS4NorthCal aims to create regional PLCs for newly certified high school CS teachers that provide continuous professional learning on CS curricula and inclusive pedagogical strategies.

Expected outcomes: Establish 7 active PLCs (1 per county) that meet monthly, with each meeting attracting at least 15-20 high school teachers.

CS4NorthCal aims to establish and scale a high school CS teacher mentorship program to offer ongoing and rigorous support to newly certified teachers.

Expected outcomes: Recruit and train 20-25 teacher-mentors. 80-100 newly certified high school CS teachers will receive intensive, individualized mentoring.