Where is Computer Science from K-8th Grade in FCPS?
FCPS Is Failing Its Most Vulnerable Students
On February 16, I participated in a fascinating panel on the rights of students with special needs in education, hosted by Oscar Contreras, a renowned journalist at Radio Poder 1380 AM. This topic holds particular significance within the Hispanic community, as evidenced by a 2018 study on disabilities in Virginia, which found that 6.5% of the Hispanic/Latino population had some form of disability.
In the Fairfax public school system, which is one of the largest in the country with 198 schools and more than 178,000 students, 25,000 or 14.4% have disabilities.
I had the pleasure to share the panel with the following distinguished panelists:
Lydia English from Disability Law Center de Virginia
Lizzett Uria from the Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC)
Michelle Tineo from CA Human Services and,
Debra Tisler, mother of four children, a former special education teacher with 30 years of experience, and a candidate for the school board of Fairfax County Public Schools for the Springfield school district.
I thanked Mr. Contreras for the opportunity and all the panelists for a very fruitful and impactful conversation. In fact, a few days later after the show, I talked to the secretary of the Church Cristo No Esta Muerto El Esta Vivo, Ms. Magda Artola, and she mentioned that she was very moved by the dedication of all the participants and included all of us in the prayers of the church.
Ms. Tisler’s Observation about Computer Science Courses for Dyslexic Students
During the panel, Ms. Tisler raised a crucial issue affecting students with dyslexia and other language learning-based disabilities. Specifically, she highlighted that students pursuing an advanced high school diploma in Virginia are required to learn a foreign language, which can be particularly challenging for those students with such disabilities.
Ms. Tisler noted that in these types of cases, Virginia provides the option to take some credits in computer science at the high school level.
Virginia Code provision § 22.1-253.13:4. Standard 4. Student achievement and graduation requirements, Section D, numeral 20 guarantees this right:
“20. Permit a student who is pursuing an advanced diploma and whose individualized education program specifies a credit accommodation for world language to substitute two standard units of credit in computer science for two standard units of credit in a world language. For any student that elects to substitute a credit in computer science for credit in world language, his or her school counselor must provide notice to the student and parent or guardian of possible impacts related to college entrance requirements.”
This legislation allows an Individualized Education Programs (IEP) team to let a student with autism or dyslexia or Asperger's not be denied an advanced diploma and a chance at higher education attainment.
However, since the adoption of this policy in 2020, Fairfax County Public Schools has not ensured that students with dyslexia and other language learning disabilities who are entering high school years have acquired the basic computer skills, including vocabulary, to pursue computer science at the high school level.
This is particularly aggravating if we consider that Fairfax County Public Schools is a school system with a 3.5 billion dollars budget yet there does not seem to be a serious plan to integrate computer science into the curriculum from K-8th grade.
Concerning Statistics About Computer Science in Virginia
According to a recent report on the state of computer science in Virginia in 2022,
The State averaged 29,924 open computing jobs each month.
These jobs have an average salary of $106,580,
Yet, in Virginia, there were only 2,435 graduates with computer science degrees since 2019.
The State lacks a PLAN to make computer science a FUNDAMENTAL course and,
The state does not yet allow computer science to count as a core admission requirement at institutions of higher education.
87.3% of VA high school students attend a school that offers foundational computer science,
But only 6.3% of students are enrolled in a computer science course.
In Virginia, computer science courses are electives starting in high school notwithstanding that evidence proves that the number of high schoolers interested in pursuing computer science degrees INCREASES when computer science is made mandatory.
The “Empty” Virginia Department of Education Computer Science Dashboard
Virginia has very advanced Computer Science Standards of Learning - yet when stakeholders such as Hispanics for STEM try to check out the status of computer science instruction across Virginia and click on the Virginia Computer Science Dashboard, we are referred to a BLANK page.
This is, to say the least, DISCOURAGING. We demand that the current Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction updates this page and show us what is going on with computer science in this STATE.
Yes, Ms. Jillian Ballow, I am talking to you in your capacity as State Superintendent of Public Instruction! Yes, Ms. Aimee Rogstad Guidera, I am talking to you in your capacity as Secretary of Education.
And, we are not alone.
Our Own Computer Science Dashboard
As noted in the previous statistics, 13% of high schools in Virginia do not offer this class.
The uneven situation in the offering of computer classes includes the case of Robinson Secondary School in FCPS. Some parents informed me that the school ceased offering IB Computer Science. I reached out to the school for clarification and learned the following:
The school confirmed that Robinson Secondary is no longer offering IB Computer Science after the departure of the teacher a couple of years ago and it does not look like they will be able to offer it any time soon due to a byzantine administrative hurdle: according to IB rules, a teacher of IB Computer Science has to have a math certification to teach this type of class.
After the departure of the previous IB CS teacher two years ago, this school has not had a math vacancy, preventing them from hiring a professor who will be able to teach this class.
The school does offer other computer and programming classes, including the basic CS foundations, advanced computer science programming, and game design.
The school also noted that students have the chance to explore other options such as dual enrollment with NOVA to pursue advanced studies in this field.
The representative of the school added that they are experiencing teacher shortages due to a number of factors, including salaries. A math and computer science major might be inclined to pursue a career in the private field rather than teaching.
I personally believe that to address the shortage of teachers in this critical field, we MUST think outside the box and consider other options such as partnering with colleges and the private industry, including revisiting hiring policies and requirements.
It is frankly speaking unacceptably that Robinson Secondary students are prevented from pursuing IB in computer science because of administrative hurdles. Where is the Chief Equity Officer of FCPS, Dr. Nardos King? What is she doing to ensure that all of our students have access to this critical tool? What is the Virginia Department of Education doing about this? Enough is enough. We need to take computer science education in Virginia SERIOUSLY!
The Magical Simple Formula
I have consulted with many experts and was told they are unaware of FCPS’s specific plans for computer science integration. There are some efforts to increase the offering at the elementary and middle school level.
All of them agree that the best approach to broadening the participation of minorities in the STEM and computer science fields, including students with disabilities, is EARLY EDUCATION THAT SCAFFOLDS THROUGH GRADE LEVELS.
This early presentation of these key concepts assists in the process of conceptualization of belonging in these fields particularly relevant to minority students and students with disabilities, thereby enabling them to challenge pre-conceptions or prejudice.
If Our Education Officials Fail Us, Let’s Take Control of Our Academic Future
It baffles the mind the amount of time and resources devoted by FCPS to put EQUITY on the forefront of its crusade that ranges from eliminating the race-blind merit-based admission process to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to the opening of the office of the Chief Equity Officer to the hiring of a sole source EQUAL OUTCOMES contractor for the amount of $455,000, YET it devotes no interest whatsoever to one of the most fundamental and pressing issues in the preparation of our students to succeed in the XXI Century: ensuring that all of our students have a solid grasp in computer science, one of the basic literacy in our current and future workforce.
This is the main reason for Hispanics for STEM, a pro-bono association of parents I set up in September 2020 to encourage our families to further the education of their students by taking advantage of the number of fantastic free online resources that are available on the Internet to learn computer science on their own.
There are a number of great platforms and I would like to invite our readers to check our Facebook page where we post regularly information about great tools. Some of our favorites include:
We are pleased that in our short existence, some of our students are pursuing their own education in the field of computer science, including an FCPS 10th grader who lost her capacity to move early in her life, but her sharp mind has embraced freeCodeCamp. She is well advanced in this platform’s certifications and ready for an exciting career path.
Computer Science is liberating and should be the cornerstone of what EQUITY should look like: a mechanism to provide our students with the tools to succeed in the XXI Century.