The Bellevue School District (BSD) (pop: over 19,000, economically disadvantaged: 22%) is the only school district in Washington (and one of the few in the US) with a comprehensive K-12 computer science pathway for all students. The Bellevue School District Computer Science program is funded generously by the Bellevue Schools Foundation.
BSD innovation in computer science education shines in the middle and especially at the elementary school level. For high school, BSD - as one would expect from a high-performing academic school district - provides a wide range of computer science courses and AP Computer Science at all its comprehensive high schools. What makes BSD's commitment to CS education unique is its ongoing initiative to integrate computer science into core subjects in elementary and middle school.
Integrating CS into core subjects is critical to providing CS education to all students, especially at younger grade levels where standalone classes are impractical. A CSforAll Washington memo summarizing the opinions of a Washington CS educator focus group last year also identified integrating CS into core subjects as the most desired path to create a CS graduation requirement.
For elementary school, the BSD Computer Science Team has developed a comprehensive sequence of lesson plans focused on integrating CS into core content areas. These integrated lesson plans are mostly based on Code.org CS Fundamentals content and aligned to CSTA K-12 CS standards. Integration is the model that BSD plans to expand to all its elementary schools going forward.
All BSD elementary schools have access to the integrated CS curriculum and professional learning and are supported by a Computer Science Lead Teacher. Three of BSD's 16 elementary schools have a CS Facilitator who serves as a co-teacher to implement more computer science into the general education classroom. All students in BSD’s four Title I elementary schools also attend CS as a specialist class once per week for 40 minutes.
For middle school, BSD is currently developing integrated CS units that occur during the general science class for all middle school students. All BSD 6th-grade and 8th-grade currently experience these integrated units, and BSD is currently piloting an integrated 7th grade unit. This integration with general science is in addition to a wide range of computer science electives that BSD provides at its middle schools.
More information on Bellevue School District’s computer science initiatives, please visit their website or the Elementary Computer Science Curriculum Developer Devon Kellermannor the Secondary Computer Science Curriculum Developer Angie DiLoreto.
Why did the computer keep its Valentines Day card a secret?
... Because it did not want to share
its cache of love!
February 2025 Issue
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Renton Feb 4 Meetup
Join Washington CSTA and host foundry10 on Feb 4 (Tue) 6:30 - 8:30 pm at the Berliner Pub in Renton for an informal meetup in order to connect with like-minded educators and researchers who are passionate about Physical Computing, AI in education, and all things CS Education.
The event will include appetizers, a small group activity with micro:bits, samples of foundry10’s CS educational research, the new CSTA Washington rubber ducks, and casual networking.
The event is open to all educators, but please register using the link here or below to help us plan.
Physical Computing Workshop on Mar 15
Inventing with Code: Sparking Creativity Through Physical Computing.
Washington CSTA is partnering with Puget Sound Educational Service District (ESD 121) to present our 3rd annual Physical Computing Workshop on Saturday, Mar 15 from 9:30 AM - 2:30 PM.
Similar to last year, we will have separate tracks for Elementary/Middle (micro:bit) and for Middle/High (Odyssey Board - Arduino compatible platform designed for K-12 education). Attendees will receive a kit, lunch, and four Washington state STEM clock hours. For more info, register here.
Bellevue College CS Ed PD on Sat Apr 26
FUTURE: Foundations for Understanding Technology, Uniting Resources for Educators
Bellevue College Computer Science and CSTA Washington are teaming up on a professional development event to provide K-12 educators with valuable resources, networking opportunities, and insights into Computer Science education.
Educators of all grade levels are encouraged to attend. Three Washington clock hours are available. To find out more and to register (free registration available until Mar 17), see event registration.
Washington Legislative Update
On Jan 17, Senators Wellman, Nobles, and Wilson, submitted bill SB 5327 (2025) titled "Concerning learning standards and graduation requirements" specifically addressing computer science. The bill mandates: (a) the state board of education consider how to incorporate CS into their revised graduation requirements, (b) the board develop a report on district needs in meeting the requirement, and (c) OSPI update the CS learning standards.
Registration for the January 2025 cohort has been extended until the end of February. Further, due to instructor availability, this online, self-paced, competency-based course will not be available beyond Oct 2025. The Jan 2025 cohort will be the last.
Teachers who complete the course will receive 40 clock hours. Scholarships covering $550 of the retail $650 cost are available to current public-school teachers and juniors/seniors in an undergraduate teacher prep program.
Washington CSTA at NCCE
Washington CSTA will be joining with other CSTA chapters (Oregon, Alaska, Idaho) of the Pacific Northwest at a booth at NCCE 2025 on February 26 -28 at the Seattle Convention Center. If you are attending, let us know via the CSTA Washington virtual community (👥) CSTA at NCCE 2025. We look forward to seeing you there!
Winter PD Opportunities from CSTA Washington
CSTA Washington provides free Washington clock hours to its members for the online, self-paced courses on Coursera provided by CSTA.
The Chapter Development Committee (CDC) has begun work on the three objectives that the interim board has tasked - regional representation, board structure, and social media/membership. The CDC expects to have a draft list of recommendations by mid-March, and its final list by mid-April.
The committee is still actively looking for one or two more members, specifically from the Olympic Peninsula and/or the southern/Vancouver region. If you are interested, please contact the CDC at washington@csteachers.org by February 15. No prior board or committee experience is necessary, just your experience in the region and your willingness to serve.
Check out the CSTA Washington Virtual Community
The Washington CSTA virtual community provides a gated forum for chapter members to interact with each other. Our chapter community is by far the most active CSTA local chapter community and one of the most active of all CSTA communities. See what it is all about by checking out one of the popular current threads:
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Teacher Spotlight: Melissa Cook
Melissa Cook is an Instructional Technology Integration Program Specialist for the Kent School District (enrollment: 25,752), where she has taught since 2013. She holds a Master’s in Digital Education Leadership from Seattle Pacific University and has taught for 18 years. Melissa is passionate about empowering educators and students to integrate technology in meaningful ways, fostering innovation, creativity, and equitable access to digital tools that prepare students for the future.
CS Courses 2023-24
This past school year Melissa taught a variety of courses including physical robotics classes, utilizing micro:bits, Hummingbird robotics, and Finch robots, Minecraft for Education Basics and student workshops, including the Cyber Secure Campaign, Minecraft Inclusive Schools Challenge, and Hour of Code. Additionally, she co-facilitated the Digital Learning Ambassador Program, a collaborative cohort where teachers learn innovative strategies for integrating technology into their classrooms.
Extra-Curricular STEM Activities and Initiatives
Melissa supports the STEAM Lending Library, which features various robotics kits and provides training and resources that help teachers integrate STEAM into daily instruction. Additionally, Melissa creates opportunities for students to explore computer science and cybersecurity through initiatives like the 15 Days of Computer Science "advent" calendar during CSEd Week and Cyber Secure Choice Boards tailored to various grade levels.
Job Transition/Challenges/Opportunities
Due to budget cuts, the Kent SD Digital Learning Team was reimagined as a smaller Instructional Integration team and shifted from a coaching model to a more systems-focused approach. Rather than daily interactions with teachers and students and co-developing tool-specific workshops with teachers, the team's current focus is on integrating technology into established frameworks and providing targeted professional development.
How can CSTA Washington better support k-8 teachers
“As a former elementary school teacher, I am hopeful that PSCSTA can play a vital role in advancing coding education for ALL students, especially at the K-8 level. One of the biggest challenges is the lack of dedicated instructional time for computer science in elementary schools, despite the existence of Ed Tech Standards. This responsibility often falls to librarians, who may not have the passion or resources to prioritize it. Many teachers are also unaware that these standards exist, leaving a significant gap in implementation.”
Partner Spotlight: foundry10
foundry10is an education research organization with a philanthropic focus on expanding ideas about learning and creating direct value for youth. Through a unique blend of philanthropy, research, and programs, the Technology, Media, and Information Literacy team at foundry10 collaborates with youth and K-12 educators to equip young people with the tools to navigate online spaces and create with digital technologies. A few examples of projects we funded include:
Phone chargers, surge protectors, and USB cables for middle school students as part of an alternative program to encourage students to disengage from their phones during class.
Sphero indi robot class packs for elementary K-2 and Intensive Support classrooms to give students the opportunity to experience play-based learning in computational thinking and computer science principles.
Robotics kits, 3D printers, a laser cutter, and other tech supplies for middle and high school CTE programs that will prepare students for success in their career pathways.
foundry10 looks forward to broadening our network of Washington computer science educators. Please reach out to philanthropy@foundry10.org for more information about how we can partner with your school to support computer science and information literacy education.
Two new Tableau visualizations are now available on the CSforAll Washington DataPage: CS Teachers in Washington 2018-2023 and Washington CSEd Teacher Demographics 2018-2023. These Tableau visualizations join the visualizations on CS student enrollments and demographics that were previously on the website.
The above charts show part of one of the many dashboards provided by these visualizations. The chart shows that the number of teachers in Washington teaching CS 6-12 increased from 776 in 2020-21 to 957 in 2022-23 after remaining relatively flat for the previous three years. It also shows how CS teachers use CTE Certifications. 44.2% of CTE teachers have limited conditional CTE certifications and only 5.2% have no CTE certification. In contrast, 22.4% of CS teachers have no traditional teaching certification.
Rubber Duck Spotlight: Social Media
Social media still confuses our rubber duck even with its green color change. Perhaps social media confuses you, too? So many different social media platforms. Which to choose? Who reads them? Especially to learn the latest in computer science education.
CSTA Puget Sound (aka PSCSTA) posted to three social media platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and X/Twitter. While we have continued to post content to these three social media platforms as PSCSTA over the past few months, the consolidation of CSTA Washington allows us to revisit our social media strategy.
Please let us know your thoughts on what social media platforms CSTA Washington should support through the Google form below by Feb14 (Valentine’s Day). Your opinion will help our Chapter Development Committee and interim board decide our social media strategy for the next year.
The CSTA Washington Connector is a monthly newsletter containing relevant information, upcoming events, learning, and connection opportunities for local CS Educators. Previous issues can be viewed by following the "News" tab on our homepage. If you have any comments about the current edition or ideas for future editions, please email csta.pugetsound@gmail.com.
