Aldine ISD Participates in Code.org Panel About Black Students and Teachers in Computer Science Education

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Aldine ISD recently participated in the second Code.org panel Engaging Black Students and Teachers in Computer Science. The panel was moderated by Shaina Glass,  Aldine ISD program director of technology applications and STEM, and lead learner in partnership with Code.org and Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP), a Code.org regional partner.

In an effort to recruit more Black students and educators to pursue computer science (CS), Code.org is hosting a series of panel discussions featuring Black students, teachers, and partners in the CS community over the next few months. The panel focuses on the experience of Black students and teachers who have studied and taught computer science and was live-streamed on YouTube on Friday, April 23.  Panelists included Lakeasia Hammond, math skills specialist and CS teacher at Aldine Ninth High School; Donald Banks, CS teacher at Blanson CTE High School; Luniqua Louis, 9th-grade CS student at Davis Ninth High School; and Martineus Fearon, a senior student at Blanson CTE High School. The first panel in the series, which aired on February 26, explored the importance of designing recruitment materials and strategies to recruit Black students into computer science.

While progress has been made in recruiting Black students to study CS, they still lag far behind students from other racial and ethnic groups who study the subject. According to Code.org data, only 66% of Black students attend a school that teaches a foundational computer science course, compared to 74% of white students and 85% of Asian students. The data also shows that Black students are far less likely to take an Advanced Placement Computer Science exam. Black students made up only 6% of AP Computer Science test-takers in 2019, compared to 44% of test-takers who were white. According to a study conducted by Google and Gallup, 88% percent of Black students responded that they would like to study Computer Science if given the opportunity. You can find more statistics and information about Black student participation in CS here. For questions about this panel, email [email protected]. 

You can watch the full panel below.