Computer Science Education
Florida views the term “computer science” as meaning the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including their principles, hardware and software designs, applications, and their impact on society, and includes computer coding and computer programming.
Standards
The Computer Science Florida Standards were approved by the Florida State Board of Education on May 20, 2016.
Elementary and Secondary Resources
The following webpages are intended to provide information and resources to support instruction of the Computer Science Florida Standards for elementary and secondary grades.
CS Projects
TAPS# 10A140 – Computer Science Certification
Project year 2019-2020 Highlights:
- For the 2019-20 program year, participating districts mostly focused their use of allocated funds for projects in three main categories
- Sending and supporting teachers that attended an FDOE-provided CS certification prep camp
- Partnering with a curriculum vendor to provide professional development tied to the topics on the FTCE Computer Science certification exam or Computer Science courses found on the state Computer Science course list.
- Designing local professional development to support activities related to the above-referenced teacher certification or course list
- In total, more than 225 teachers received a bonus for earning or holding their K-12 Computer Science FTCE certification and more than 150 teachers received a bonus for holding a relevant industry certification
- Across all participating districts, more than 925 K-12 Florida educators began preparation programs for the K-12 FTCE Computer Science certification exam and more than 80% of those teachers completed the course of study (see below for one of these success stories out of Broward County)
- More than 1,000 teachers were trained in relevant industry certifications tied to Career and Technical Education-relevant courses containing foundations of Computer Science
Success story from 2019-2020 year:
Billie Jent is a Science and Computer Science Teacher at Coral Springs Middle School in Broward County Public Schools. Mrs Jent has been working toward her Computer Science FTCE certification and during 2020, engaged in a number of preparation activities to get ready. Some activities she participated in were curated by her school district leaders and some were statewide events. Here is a video she recorded to share with the rest of the cohort halfway through a FDOE-curated preparation camp. I am very proud to say that through her massive efforts, participation in prep program activities, she was able to work with the resources, work with her statewide and local fellow computer science teachers, and user her own knowledge to be successful on the certification exam.
A thought from Mrs Jent about her experience preparing for this exam:
“Passing the Computer Science K-12 Certification exam was a mountain I conquered! It took two years of diligent focus, practice, preparation, studying, and commitment. It took hours of Java workshops, Scratch workshops, local prep camps, and the DOE prep camp. It took a village of support from my family and friends, my peers, my school leadership, and state support. It was a mountain that brought me through laughter, and in the end, tears of joy! Proudly, I can now say, with extreme confidence and pride, I am a CS certified teacher!”
For more information about how your district is participating in this RFA opportunity, reach out to your district Computer Science curriculum leader. Are you that leader? Reach out to our team and let’s work together to get things going!
Contact Information
Justin Feller
Computer Science Specialist
Bureau of Standards and Instructional Support
325 West Gaines Street
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400
Phone: 850-245-9323
Justin.Feller@fldoe.org