CS4NORTHCAL: scaling an evidence-based model for teacher preparation and support to provide equitable and inclusive CS education in california high schools

The National Science Foundation awarded the University of California, Santa Cruz $1.141 million on October 1, 2025, under the Computer and Information Science and Engineering program (CFDA 47.070) to scale a research-practice partnership model for high school computer science teacher preparation, professional development, and ongoing support across Northern California through September 30, 2026.

CS4NORTHCAL will execute three primary activities: scaling a certification program for CS teacher preparation and professional development to increase the number of authorized high school CS teachers; expanding Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for newly certified high school CS teachers to provide continuous professional learning on CS curricula and effective pedagogical strategies; and establishing and scaling a high school CS teacher mentorship program to offer ongoing, rigorous support to newly certified teachers to improve their retention and skills. Over the project period, the research-practice partnership will serve 200 teachers and support 25,000+ high school students.

The partnership includes San Francisco State University, WestEd, and 20+ school districts. Sub-recipients include Sonoma State University (designated April 8, 2026), Sacramento State Sponsored Research at California State University, Sacramento (March 30, 2026), San Jose State University Research Foundation (March 17, 2026), and WestEd (February 9, 2026). WestEd will conduct design-based research to investigate how best to design and modify supplementary authorization courses and PLCs to effectively prepare teachers of varying disciplinary and geographic backgrounds to teach high school computer science equitably. Work is performed in Santa Cruz, California.

Abstract

The goal of CS4NORTHCAL is to scale up an effective, evidence-based model for preparation, PD, and ongoing support of high school CS teachers. CS4NORTHCAL will prepare and support high school teachers committed to CS education excellence throughout northern california. This project will increase rigorous and engaging CS course offerings to all high school students. The retention of students in high school CS courses will increase, and these students will gain in-demand skills that allow them to enter the CS workforce. The strategies identified and tested in this project for improving teacher preparation and support will be of broad interest, as school districts throughout the country are facing, or will face, the same problems, as they ramp up their own CS offerings. Over the course of this project, the RPP will serve 200 teachers and support 25,000+ high school students. SAN francisco state university, wested, and 20+ school districts will collaborate and launch CS4NORTHCAL to address the critical national need to broaden the availability of high-quality computer science (CS) education to all american students by creating a scalable and effective model for teacher preparation. The project has three main activities: (1) scaling a certification program for CS teacher preparation and professional development to increase the number of authorized high school CS teachers; (2) expanding professional learning communities (PLCS) for newly certified high school CS teachers to provide continuous professional learning on CS curricula and effective pedagogical strategies; and (3) establishing and scaling a high school CS teacher mentorship program to offer ongoing, rigorous support to newly certified teachers to improve their retention and skills. The RPP has jointly developed research questions to investigate how best to design certification courses, PLCS, and teacher mentorship programs to prepare teachers of varying disciplinary and geographic backgrounds to teach high school CS: research questions include: (1) how can online certification courses be designed to effectively prepare teachers with CS content knowledge and skills? (2) how can certification courses and ongoing support be designed to address the needs and readiness levels of teachers with different disciplinary backgrounds? (3) how do teachers engage in ongoing support (e.g., PLCS, mentoring) focused on the continuing development of their content knowledge and teaching skills, particularly in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence for workforce readiness? By focusing on building teacher capacity in high schools, this project creates new learning opportunities for all students, enabling them to pursue higher education and careers in high-demand stem and AI-integrated fields. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.