Hi Neil,

The top priority in each state varies by the state.  We wrote about some of those issues in this article in CACM (http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2856455) and in this blog post (https://cacm.acm.org/blogs/blog-cacm/198790-state-of-the-states-progress-toward-cs-for-all/fulltext).  

Yes, growing the number of teachers is a problem everywhere.  The curriculum issues vary by state.  In some states (e.g., Georgia and South Carolina), curriculum is determined top-down, so the curriculum is defined and then disseminated.  Both of those states have CS classes and curricula defined.  In other states (e.g., Massachusetts and California), individual districts define everything from curricula to high school graduation requirements, so there are hundreds of classes in each state and a wide variety of policies to negotiate.  Some states have CS teacher credentials/licensure defined (e.g., Indiana), others are developing standards, and still others (e.g., Michigan) are scrapping CS teacher credentials.  Less than 10 states have CS curriculum specialists/coordinators in their state departments of education. Without expertise in the state department, CS may not be valued or managed with full understanding of the subject.

That's a dense answer. The bottom line is that there isn't one answer about what is most in demand. US states are so varied, that there are 50+ sets of issues and priorities.

Neil - For details, see the State of the States report (http://www.edc.org/sites/default/files/uploads/...), co-authored by ECEP, Code.org, Education Commission of the States (ECS), Education Development Center, Inc., the Massachusetts Computer Attainment Network (EDC/MassCAN), and SageFox Consulting Group

Our four step model (described in this CSTA Blog Post) is for states just getting started with CS Ed:

• Step 1: Find a leader(s): You need a leader (or 2-3 who will work closely together) who will take the initiative and who see(s) the big picture of how schools, higher education, businesses, and state politics have to work together to make change within a state.
• Step 2: Understand your state’s policies: Who makes the decisions in your state about high school graduation requirements, teacher certification, and high school curricula? Where does computing fit within your state’s policies? Think about writing a landscape report that lays out the current state of computing education within your state. (There are several of these available at the CSTA website, such as one from South Carolina and another on Maryland.)
• Step 3: Gather your allies: Efforts that speak with multiple voices from different sectors promoting computing education tend to get more influence in state government. Computing education summits are where you meet face-to-face, to talk about shared goals and come up with strategies that all the allies can work on.
• Step 4: Get initial funding: Landscape reports, summits, and other meetings take some small pots of funding to get you started, before the big ticket items, like professional learning opportunities for all your high school teachers.

Thanks for sharing your model.  I think it is great helping states set up networks that can help them be successful and sustainable.

To improve diversity in computing we think that it is important for every student to have an engaging exposure to computing, but that won't happen in most states for years.  In the meantime, we recommend reaching more underrepresented students through informal means such as computing summer camps.  We have run workshops to help states learn how to plan and run financially sustaining computing summer camps and they have competed for up to not quite $5,000 in "seed" funding for equipment for the summer camps.  We have also piloted Rise Up 4 CS in several states to help underrepresented students pass Advanced Placement Computer Science (CSA and CSP) by having undergraduate students lead help session and serve as near-peer role models.  This effort has mostly been funded by additional funds from Google and Oracle.  

Most states in ECEP start by forming a state team, then they try to understand the current situation in their state by creating a landscape report.   States also have held summits to increase support, develop a strategic plan, and increase awareness.  States have focused on training the people who train the teachers, creating standards, and teacher credentialing.  Some states have added more computing summer camps, but this effort is limited as we only had $15,000 a year to award in "seed" money.  Oracle contributed an extra $20,000 one year, which we used to increase the number of awards that year.  Most the awardees continued to run the camps after the "seed" funding.  

ECEP doesn't dictate the priorities for states.  We offer services like the summer camp workshops and mini-grants and the states determine what they think is most important. Right now, states are mostly focused on summits, standards, teacher professional development, and their strategic plans.  Puerto Rico has been translating the ECS curriculum to Spanish.  

Debra - the sustainable summer camp model is an intervention that has always been a part of ECEP's work. You can read more about Barbara Ericson's work on the ECEP website: http://www.ecepalliance.org/computing-summer-camp-workshops.

In our 16 states and Puerto Rico there are many informal programs offering a range learning opportunities in CS, computational thinking, robotics, and digital literacy. Informal and formal CS education make up the education ecosystem in every state. The focus on frameworks, standards development, and graduation requirements are laser focused on formal education, but informal educators can and should be at the table in these discussions. 

As states begin to coordinate their reform efforts, we encourage them to build diverse leadership teams that will support strategic and sustainable CS education policy reform. Many states have informal programs engaged in their change efforts and are considering both types of resources. Reaching all students and increasing diversity in the CS pipeline requires that we advance and improve CS education wherever the students are. 

Lien, thanks for your comments and questions. We recognize that other states and leaders in states may want to get involved with the work of ECEP. We put research, data and resources up on our website. We are always open to email inquiries and have provided initial coaching and resource sharing for non-ECEP states. Currently we have reached capacity at 17 states, but there is always talk of growth.

For leaders in schools/districts I'd encourage them to start surveying the CS education landscape and building a network. Who else is doing the work to create access to high quality CS education for underrepresented students? Who is working towards #CSforAll? Are there other CS projects in the state? The four-step model that Mark discusses above can be used at any level of CS organizing.

ECEP partners with organizations like CSTA, NCWIT, STARS and collaborates with the CS for All Consortium and Code.org to amplify our work. We know that the leaders in our 16 states and Puerto Rico share about their ECEP related work at conferences, trainings and PD events both locally and nationally. Every state leader is accessible through our website on the states page. In addition to our substantial network of state leaders, we have advisory board members, expert bureau members and collaborators that help to share the ECEP model. 

I encourage anyone wanting to learn more about how to 'change their state' to email us at: ecep@cs.umass.edu