Growing up in the heart of Silicon Valley, technology is deeply ingrained in the lives of Palo Alto High School students. But in the coming years, computer science may begin to play an even more prominent role in the lives of Paly students as the Computer Science Pk-12 Curriculum Design Advisory Committee works towards making programming a graduation requirement.

The CS CDAC is selecting a one-semester computer science course to recommend to the Palo Alto Unified School District Board of Education this spring. According to junior Robbie Selwyn, a committee member, the committee consists of students, teachers, administrators, community members and PAUSD leaders who aim to design computer science curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students. 

“The purpose of the committee is to develop CS curriculum for all age levels, but also to create a logical flow between the different levels of education,” Selwyn said.

At the high school level, the majority of the committee is in support of mandating a basic computer science course for PAUSD students. Rather than designing a new course from scratch, the committee will choose an existing program to serve as a model for the class. 

“We want all high school students to have CS experience so we are heavily in favor of requiring such an experience for graduation,” committee facilitator Suzanne Antink said. “We want all of our PAUSD students at the technology table. … In order to bring CS to every single PAUSD student, a one-semester requirement for graduation would help.”

Selwyn said that regardless of a student’s future career, having a foundation of computer science will help them think critically and logically.

“A well-educated student that is going to participate in the real world should really have a solid fundamental understanding of computer science,” Selwyn said. “Although not everyone will be programming after they graduate high school, there are several important concepts taught in CS, including algorithmic thinking and abstraction.”

Selwyn compared mandatory computer science classes to Living Skills, explaining that both classes teach students crucial skills for their future careers. However, despite the value of computer science classes, adding a new graduation requirement would leave students with less room in their schedules for electives and free periods, according to Antink.

Junior Zach Phillips shared this concern, but added that changes in the bell schedule might impact his opinion.

“We already have so many requirements,” Phillips said. “If they were to change the bell schedule, I would be willing to consider it.”

Antink said that making computer science mandatory would also require the district to hire new personnel and pay for new equipment.

“We will need teachers trained and certified to teach CS,” Antink said. “Most folks who do CS go into lucrative tech jobs. It’s the rare CS expert who comes to the K-12 classroom.”

Though implementing a mandatory CS class would have drawbacks, Antink says that according to surveys the committee sent out in May 2017, approximately half of high school students and 80 percent of parents were in support of the requirement.

Antink emphasized that students would be able to fulfill the requirement in a variety of ways.

“They can take an introductory one-semester course … or they can take any one of the current year-long offerings,” Antink said.

According to the committee’s latest agenda, the committee expects to make its final recommendation in May and hopes to receive board approval on June 5.

Antink added that the elementary and middle school subgroups of the committee are also implementing changes in the coming years.

“Our exploration this semester will help inform our practice about how to make CS happen in the elementary schools,” Antink said. “In our middle schools, we know we can fit CS into three weeks of the CS Wheel exploration in sixth grade, and we are looking at some ways to include CS either in science, and maybe even in math.”

Regardless of the committee’s final decision, Selwyn and Antink agreed that computer science classes will soon play a pivotal role in PAUSD education.

“There will be changes to the way computer science is taught in this district,” Selwyn said.

The committee’s next meeting will take place on March 26 at the district office.

Following is a list of committee members and their positions from the committee’s website: