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Top Three Reasons to Add CS Principles to the Master Schedule Now!

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

This is the season of cool weather, falling leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, and master schedules. This is the best time of year to think ahead and plan for Computer Science (CS) Principles. What will happen in classrooms across the state during the 2019–2020 academic year is being decided now, even before we know who is coming to Thanksgiving dinner in a few weeks. You might be skeptical, but master schedules are complex and serious. Changes and additions can’t be made without evidence and reason. So here are the top three reasons to add Computer Science Principles to the master schedule this November.

1. CS Principles is the best first step to increasing the number and diversity of students taking CS in your school.

While 91 percent of parents want their kids’ schools to teach CS, 60 percent of U.S. high schools don’t offer even one CS course. Every student will need some CS, no matter what career or college major they pursue. The U.S. economy needs more students to choose STEM and CS college majors and careers. For both social justice and economic reasons, students and the economy would benefit if more of these students came from populations currently underrepresented in CS, including girls and minorities.

The CS Principles course is unique because it can be an entry point to computer science for most students. It is based on the College Board’s CS Principles framework, a survey course designed to appeal to a broad range of students. This course is an essential element of a CS program, providing CS literacy for all students and introducing CS to students who might go on to take additional CS courses.

2. CS Principles is the best first step to building CS teacher capacity.

CS Principles is also a good entry point for teachers new to CS. Many teachers have certifications and experience in other subjects before teaching CS. Taking professional development and teaching a CS survey course are good first steps to learning CS content and teaching practices. Teachers can then take more advanced professional development and prepare for state certification, increasing computer science teaching capacity for the school.

3. In Texas, adding CS Principles, and other CS courses, can pay for itself (and maybe even more).  

The 2019–2020 academic year is important for computer science in Texas schools. It is likely that a subset of CS courses taught in this year and beyond will receive weighted funding from the state, on average about $7,000 more funding per section of 25 students than in previous years. This increase in funding is well beyond the cost of professional development, curriculum, and support for new CS courses, and it increases with each additional section taught.

That might seem like holiday magic, but here’s how it happened: Two years ago, the Texas Legislature approved weighted funding for a fixed number of CS courses. Since then, the Computer Science Task Force, led by Dr. Carol Fletcher and Rohan Ramchand, delivered a report recommending the courses to receive the weighted funding: Fundamentals of Computer Science, Computer Science I, AP Computer Science Principles, and AP Computer Science A. (Principles of Cybersecurity, a course yet to be developed, would also receive the weighted funding.)  The 2019 Texas Legislature is expected to accept this list of courses and apply the weighted funding beginning in the 2019–2020 school year.

In addition to the expected increase in funding for CS courses, the Texas Education Agency has funding available for online Blended Learning + UTeach CS Principles training that includes teacher stipends. The UTeach Institute also has NSF funding that provides free UTeach CS Principles training and teacher stipends in exchange for participating in research activities. (For more information about these programs, email Carol Ramsey at ramsey@uteach.utexas.edu.)

This is the right time to work with your principal, administrators, and counselors to get CS Principles on your school’s master schedule and to begin to promote the powerful learning opportunity to your students. CS Principles can be a key element upon which to build computer science student participation and teacher capacity. It might feel like seeing Thanksgiving decorations in July to start thinking about it now, but ‘tis the season of the master schedule and now is the best time to start. Your students and parents will thank you later!

 This is a guest blog by Carol Ramsey (ramsey@uteach.utexas.edu). Ramsey is the manager of UTeach Computer Science, which works to improve computer science teaching and learning in secondary schools, with a focus on access, diversity, and equity. The UTeach Computer Science team delivers curriculum, professional development, and support for the UTeach CS Principles course, first developed by an NSF grant and endorsed by the College Board. She has degrees from both Texas A&M University (Secondary Education) and The University of Texas (Computer Science bachelors and STEM Education masters) and spent many years confused about who to root for on Thanksgiving day.

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E-rate
AdvocacyCTO/CIOFunding

E-rate: Building on 20 Years of Progress

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Since 1998, the E-rate program has provided subsidies to schools across the nation to support the cost of telecommunications and Internet services. At the core of this universal service funding program is the belief that all students in all locations throughout the country deserve equal educational opportunities and the ability to study, work, and thrive in our increasingly digital world. For 20 years, E-rate has made that belief an attainable, affordable goal for school districts across Texas.

E-rate

“E-rate plays a huge part in our budgeting for technology. It’s a critical program that allows us to be aggressive in our planning knowing that at least for bandwidth we’re going to be reimbursed. It makes our budgeting possible, and we know that as bandwidth needs grow it’s going to be economically sustainable. We may invest more money upfront into our bandwidth, but knowing that the end user experience is boundless and allows them to do much more is worth it – we’re putting [the user] first.” – Chris Cummings, Director of Information Technology, Klein Independent School District

The Classroom Connectivity Initiative, a partnership between the Office of Governor Greg Abbott, the Texas Education Agency (TEA), and national non-profit EducationSuperHighway, recognizes that access to high-speed Internet is non-negotiable for student success. It addresses three key components: fiber, bandwidth, and WiFi.

E-rate

In addition to those components, the initiative is tackling connectivity challenges in Texas by helping districts access state matching funds. Designed to support schools with the cost of getting scalable infrastructure to their front door, these funds could help solve a major issue schools face in connecting to high-speed Internet. This is all possible because the Second E-rate Modernization Order stated that if a state created a fund to support schools with the cost of special construction, the E-rate program would contribute an additional 10%, on top of a school’s calculated discount to match the state’s contribution.

Here’s an example of how a school district may take advantage of the state matching fund:

  • School district applies for 80% E-rate discount.
  • Texas state matching fund contributes 10%.
  • E-rate state matching provision contributes additional 10%.
  • 100% of special construction costs are covered for the school district.

E-rateSchool districts across the state can benefit from the funding, and a majority of those eligible are in rural areas. We’re continuing to work with schools to make sure they understand how to use the funding to improve Internet access for their students.

 

Here’s what we are hearing so far:

“Fast Internet speeds are a crucial part of delivering high-quality digital learning to our classrooms, and scalable fiber optic-based Internet connectivity has been an elusive goal for some time now in our district. With the added construction cost of being a rural district, we would always struggle to move forward. While we are still in the middle of the approval process, the availability of the Texas state matching funds this year gave us the momentum to begin the E-rate and state match application process to ensure we provide the best opportunity for our students for years to come.” – Billy Polasek, Technology Director, Stockdale Independent School District

The state match is only available for E-rate funding years 2017 and 2018. The Form 471 Filing deadline is March 22, so it’s important to get started by visiting TEA’s Classroom Connectivity Initiative website.

As the end of the E-rate cycle approaches, additional tools are available for school districts that already have scalable infrastructure. School leaders can find their district on Compare & Connect K-12, EducationSuperHighway’s free tool designed to compare broadband speeds and pricing to neighboring districts to power negotiations this year.  More details on eligibility can be found on the Classroom Connectivity State Match FAQ. For questions, email classroomconnectivity@tea.texas.gov.

Guest authors: Kai Addy and Alyssa Cubello, EducationSuperHighway

Photo Credit: iPhone and Backpack by Josh Felise on Unsplash; Photo of Governor Abbott taken by ESH.

 

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E-rate
Funding

FCC Provides E-rate Relief for Hurricane-Affected Schools

by Jennifer Bergland
written by Jennifer Bergland

After Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Mike Morath, the TEA Commissioner, petitioned the FCC to provide some relief through the E-rate program for school districts and charter schools affected by the disaster. On Monday, October 30, the FCC released an order granting much of the relief requested by the Commissioner.

The highlights of the order are below; however, this should NOT be considered legal advice. If your school or library was affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, or Maria, I highly encourage you to read the order to make sure you understand the particulars.

Purpose of the E-rate Order:

  • The purpose of the temporary changes to the rules is to assist schools and libraries that need to rebuild facilities and replace equipment destroyed by one of these three hurricanes, and take other steps necessary to reinstate E-rate eligible services for the students they serve (page 5).
  • Any additional E-rate funding received pursuant to this Order will be used solely to restore E-rate eligible services to the level of functionality that immediately preceded the hurricanes (page 5).
  • This additional support is only available after entities utilize other available resources such as insurance, public assistance monies from FEMA, or support from community organizations or donations (page 5).

To Whom Does It Apply?

  • Schools or libraries that are located in what the FCC order identifies as “directly impacted areas” are provided relief in this order. These are schools and libraries that are located in counties designated by FEMA as eligible for individual disaster assistance and that incurred substantial damage to E-rate eligible services by one of the hurricanes.
  • Schools whose student enrollment have increased by 5% or more because of the hurricanes are also eligible for some relief.

Temporary Rule Changes E-rate

Increased Flexibility for Service Substitutions

Directly impacted applicants will be given some flexibility to substitute services based on their local needs without being constrained by categories of service or service types (e.g., applicants may substitute internet access service with internal connections and vice versa). For more details, see pages 6 and 7 of the order.

Second FY 2017 Application Window

  • The FCC order establishes a second FY 2017 Application Window for directly impacted applicants. This will allow these entities to request additional E-rate discounts for the purchase of replacement products and services, subject to the parameters and limitations in this order (page 7).
    • This second window will open 14 days after the release of this Order and will remain open for 30 days (page 8). My estimate is that, since the order was released on October 30, the window will open on November 13 and close on or around December 12. The USAC has not yet provided guidance on the exact date of when the window will open and close (page 8).
    • The FCC also directed the Bureau to work with USAC in the coming months to formulate a plan for providing additional relief, if necessary (page 8).

Changes to Rules Pertaining to Competitive Bidding

  • The directly impacted applicants may use contracts that were obtained and used for the submission of Form 470s and 471s in the first FY 2017 Application Window that resulted in a Funding Commitment Decision Letter (FCDL) from USAC (page 9).
  • If new contracts are required, directly impacted applicants are required to wait only 14 days prior to selecting a service and submitting a FCC Form 471 requesting E-rate support (page 9).

Discount Rate Change

For services requested in the Second FY 2017 Application Window, all directly impacted applicants will receive a 90% discount rate for Category 1 services and an 85% discount rate for Category 2 services. This is contingent upon meeting the criteria set forth in the order (page 9-10).

In addition, a new five year window begins for directly impacted applicants who apply for Category 2 services (page 10).

Schools Only Affected by Increased Student Population Due to Hurricanes

If a school’s population has increased by 5 percent or more due to the hurricanes, they may also submit a supplementary FCC Form 471 during the Second FY 2017 Application Window to request additional funding. See page 11 of the Order to see the qualifying conditions to receive this additional funding.

E-rateThe USAC should be posting additional information soon. If you think your school or library might be eligible and this additional funding will assist in the recovery effort after the hurricanes, I urge you to read the Order and immediately take steps to take advantage of this opportunity. As new information becomes available, I will update this post.

Additional Information

The USAC and FCC are hosting a free webinar on Monday, November 13 at 2:00 PM Central to provide information on the FCC’s order to provide emergency assistance to restore connectivity in schools and libraries affected by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria through the E-rate program. You can register here.

This blog was updated with additional resources on November 10, 2017.

 

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Educational Trends

TCEA Hosts Fiber Boot Camp

by Jennifer Bergland
written by Jennifer Bergland

With the recent changes made in the E-rate program, districts and libraries have new options that are available to help them achieve their connectivity goals. To help districts understand how they can utilize these new rules, TCEA hosted the Fiber Boot Camp on Friday, August 28th, at the TCEA Conference Center in Austin, Texas. We brought in experts from the FCC, the USAC, and the non-profit EducationSuperHighway to illuminate how the new rules can be used to solve the attendees specific connectivity problems. The presenters were Dana Shaffer, the Deputy Managing Director of the FCC; Joe Fredosso, a consultant representing the USAC; Tony Swei, the co-founder of the EducationSuperHighway; and Yasmin Narielvala the Director of District Programs, also from the EducationSuperHighway.

Dana Shaffer and Joe Fredosso went over the new rules and then took questions to help clarify the rules and answer questions about specific situations from those in attendance. Tony Swei and Yasmin Narielvala shared the mission of the EducationSuperHighway and went over a new tool they launched this August, the Fiber Tool Kit. The tool kit is designed to help school districts explore their options to purchase or lease lit or dark fiber. They provided information that will help a district know how much broadband they should get, how they can secure funding, what are the types of services that are available, and how to write a good RFP.

The big takeaway from the discussion was to recognize that the new E-rate rules allow districts to do things they haven’t been able to do before. Three main points to remember are:

  • The new rules allow school districts to lease dark fiber and receive discounts on the fiber as well as the electronics to light the dark fiber beginning in 2015-2016.
  • Also beginning in 2015-2016, in some situations, districts will be allowed to self-provision (own) the fiber if it is the most cost effective solution.
  • Up until now, the E-rate program would only provide discounts on construction projects that costs $500,000 or less. For four years, they are suspending that cap. This is an opportunity to utilize E-rate funds for those districts whose construction costs for fiber installation exceed that amount.

One other opportunity provided by the new rules is that the E-rate program will provide up to an extra 10% discount on special construction costs for fiber installation if the state of Texas matches up to 10% of the total cost of the construction. Currently, Texas hasn’t made plans to do this, but TCEA is working to ensure that policy makers know about this option in case there is a willingness to provide this additional funding.

The presentations and other resources for the boot camp can be accessed here.

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