IMPACT
Empowering at least 20,000 Chicago teens with the foundational practices of computer science.

Through its research and development, CAFÉCS has demonstrated a positive impact that courses like ECS have on students’ interest in the field, as well as their choices about future computer science coursework.
CAFÉCS enabled the rapid spread and implementation of the ECS course through the Taste of Computing grant from 2011-2016. Research showed that students found the course personally relevant and the course increased the likelihood that students would pursue additional CS coursework in high school. This early success gave the CPS School Board confidence in enacting the graduation requirement. CPS had a model that would support the growth from 40% to 100% of the high schools offering ECS within a few years, and they did. This groundbreaking achievement is a significant milestone for CPS and all of the computer science teachers in Chicago as they continue to see remarkable student performances across all races, ethnicities and genders.



IMPLEMENTATION
- Roughly 15,000 students graduate each year completing one year of computer science. Almost 80,000 students have taken ECS in the last decade.
- Roughly 275 teachers are teaching ECS each school year
- There is an increasing number of CPS students taking intermediate and advanced computer science courses because their introduction to computer science through ECS was personally relevant.
- The ECS professional development program provided a foundation for the success of the graduation requirement.
Student population participation in ECS Curriculum & Professional Development Program:

%
Students who identify as women
%
African-American
%
Hispanic

Chicago Public Schools Enrollment in Exploring Computer Science
2013
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Cumulative
Per Year
Based on 90,000 ECS Students
RESEARCH – contributions to the field
Learn more about our publications by clicking here.





FUNDING
To date, CAFÉCS has collectively secured 12 grants for
$8,868,176

Impact

Publications

Videos
