To address California’s growing need for computer science teachers in grades K-12, Cal State LA’s Department of Computer Science has launched the Computer Science Supplementary Authorization (CSSA) Program.

The online program, offered through the university’s College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology, and College of Professional and Global Education, is for K-12 practicing credentialed teachers, and school or district administrators in public or private schools with an interest in computer science. The broad nature of the curriculum also makes it applicable to other students seeking to further their knowledge in teaching computer science.

Led by Co-Directors Eun-Young Elaine Kang and David A. Krum, who both developed the program’s curriculum, the CSSA Program at Cal State LA is launched in collaboration with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD).

Each district secured funding from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing’s (CTC) Computer Science Supplementary Authorization Incentive Grant. LAUSD received $150,000 to train three cohorts of 20 LAUSD teachers and MUSD received $375,000 to train three cohorts of 50 MUSD teachers, providing $2,500 per participating teacher.

“This summer, the CSSA Program successfully launched at Cal State LA with 14 LAUSD teachers, primarily from grades K-8,” said Kang, chair of the Department of Computer Science. “The collaborations with the LAUSD and the MUSD will increase the level of participation in the months and years ahead, so that teachers can deliver their new knowledge and be better prepared to teach computer science in their classrooms.”

The CSSA Program meets the standards set by the CTC and is designed for practicing teachers in the community with an interest in adding a CSSA certification to enhance their credentials.

The online classes are taught by industry experts and Cal State LA instructors to equip the teachers in developing, implementing, and adapting curricula that promote foundational skills in computational thinking, and problem solving through software. Topics addressed include computational thinking, computing practice and programming, computer and communication devices, and the impacts of computing.

Individuals can choose from one of two options of the supplementary authorization program: Introductory Supplementary Authorization and Specific Supplementary Authorization. Participants can complete their program within one year.

“We hope to offer the CSSA Program statewide through additional collaborations with school districts and directly to educators and administrators,” said Krum, assistant professor of computer science. “Ongoing academic investment to increase the number of teachers knowledgeable in computer science is beneficial not only to them but to today’s students as they prepare to enter college.”

For information regarding the program and courses, please visit the CSSA Program’s webpage or contact David Krum at dkrum@calstatela.edu. For registration assistance, please contact the College of Professional and Global Education’s Student Services office at 323-343-4900 or pagestudents@calstatela.edu.

Cal State LA to be recognized with AASCU award for excellence and innovation

Cal State LA has been selected as a recipient of one of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ (AASCU) Excellence and Innovation Awards for its Prison Graduation Initiative (PGI), the first in-person bachelor’s degree completion program for incarcerated students in California and one of only five such programs in the CSU. The Excellence and Innovation Awards provide a means to celebrate and share successes, best practices, and innovations at AASCU institutions.

Cal State LA will be honored for winning the We the People Award: Excellence in Civic Learning and Community Engagement during the 2024 AASCU Summer Meeting for Academic and Student Affairs Leaders that will be held from July 16 to 19 in Denver, Colorado. The We the People Award recognizes institutions that demonstrate a strategic team commitment to prioritizing, institutionalizing, and advancing student civic learning and community engagement in regional, state, and national communities.

“We are pleased to receive this honor, which recognizes our efforts in preparing students to become agents of change within their communities while incarcerated, as well as upon their release from prison,” said Bidhan Roy, program manager for the Prison Graduation Initiative at Cal State LA.

The Prison Graduation Initiative at Cal State LA fosters individual and community transformation in California’s prisons through higher education. In 2016, the initiative was the first and only Bachelor of Arts program to be designated a Second Chance Pell federal program site in California, and it was the first bachelor’s degree program in California to award a B.A. degree to incarcerated students.

Since then, it has become one of the largest face-to-face bachelor’s degree prison programs in the country and has institutionalized community engagement into two B.A. programs: in Communication and Liberal Studies. All PGI students in the B.A programs at the California State Prison, Los Angeles County in Lancaster, the California Institution for Women in Corona, and the California Institution for Men in Chino are required to take at least one service-learning class as part of their roadmap to graduation.

“Community engagement offers our incarcerated students’ meaningful ways to engage with our campus and local communities through non-profits, like WordsUncaged, and embeds community-engaged restorative justice practices into the curriculums of our PGI students, as well as those on the main campus,” said Roy.

WordsUncaged provides platforms for incarcerated students to share their journeys of transformation with their families, the Cal State LA campus, and the broader Los Angeles community. WordsUncaged was originally founded by Professor Roy for men sentenced to life sentences in California prisons to dialogue and critically engage with the world beyond the prison walls.

AASCU is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of 350 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development.

California State University, Los Angeles is the premier comprehensive public university in the heart of Los Angeles. Cal State LA is ranked number one in the United States for the upward mobility of its students. Cal State LA is dedicated to engagement, service, and the public good, offering nationally recognized programs in science, the arts, business, criminal justice, engineering, nursing, education, and the humanities. Founded in 1947, the University serves more than 26,000 students and has more than 250,000 distinguished alumni. For more information, visit www.CalStateLA.edu.