The Texas Alliance for Computer Science Education (TACSE) held its inaugural meeting on April 8, 2015, bringing together over 60 Computer Science and economic development professionals to share concerns and discuss strategies for improving Computer Science education in Texas. These discussions prompted TACSE to put out the press release, Tech and Business Leaders: Computer Science is Key to Prosperous Texas, to mark the occasion. The meeting included a plan proposed by TACSE Founder and Co-Chair, Carol Fletcher, Ph.D. for Building the Texas Computer Science Pipeline.
Dr. Fletcher, who also serves as Associate Director for the TRC, identified four major issues: 1) lack of trained and certified CS teachers; 2) no incentive for administrative investment in CS pathway; (3) low student/parent demand; and (4) no system connecting high school courses to careers in industry.
“There is evidence to indicate that each of these four areas poses a significant barrier to the development of a robust and sustainable pathway for preparing students in the computer sciences,” Fletcher explained. “Addressing these issues will allow the state to build a pipeline of future graduates eager and prepared to fill the high-wage, high-demand computer science related jobs of the future.”
The TRC has already started working to address the need for qualified Computer Science teachers by creating the TRC CS Network and partnering with industry and education groups, such as Oracle and Code.org, to offer Computer Science professional development and resources to Texas teachers.
To learn more about TACSE, please download/view the full press release.
Tech and Business Leaders: Computer Science is Key to Prosperous Texas (PDF)
