We are working with the Air Force JROTC to prove the concept, and also working with the JROTC-CS Advisory Consortium to seek Congressional support and Federal funding for this effort within the DOD budget.  Our model scales at 25-30K per school, so it will grow with funding. Additionally, we're talking with the other forces to begin onramping them to implement. 

All grade levels are participating simultaneously, so there will be cadets at each grade level engaged in a phase of the program at all times.  In this pilot, we selected a set of schools that included some with prior AP CS and CyberPatriot programs in place. 

Our pilot is with 30 schools that are a representative sample of Air Force JROTC partner schools. Currently only 32% of JROTC high schools offer AP CSP, and we know from the demographics that JROTC cadets are not enrolling in AP CSP at scale. The goal of the program is to build a scalable model that will:

• increase capacity for JROTC schools to provide evidence-based CS and cybersecurity education
• encourage and enable JROTC cadets to enter CS and cybersecurity pathways

This is accomplished in the following ways:

• School/district level strategic planning and technical assistance via CSforALL Script 
• Professional development for teachers to offer AP CSP and for JROTC instructors to act as career coaches for cadets
• Leveraging the established JROTC incentive system (recognitions and badges) to facilitate cadet participation in the these classes.

Some of the program content - participation in CyberPatriot, CyberStart and other related extra-curricular activities will be provided by the JROTC instructors.  Additionally, the JROTC instructors will act as career coaches/advisors for the cadets.  

The CS classes will be taught by a trained CS teacher and are available to the entire school.  So, if a school doesn't have a CS class in place, we are leveraging the relationship with the Air Force to encourage the schools to put a class in place. Of the pilot schools, 12 do not yet have AP CSP in place but are on track to offer it in the fall of 2020.

 

Thank you for visiting our video! For this pilot, we are investigating the following:

1. What themes emerge through cadets’ reflections of their experiences with the summer cyber academy and the potential to integrate these skills in their educational pathways?
2. What is the increase in cadets’ knowledge and skills throughout the program?
3. What changes in cadets’ self-perceptions of cybersecurity learning are evident following the completion of the summer cyber academy?
4. To what degree, if any, does participation in the program impact cadets’ intention to study computer science and/or cybersecurity at school (by taking additional courses), in college, or in a career?
5. What differences are there, if any, across the first four questions in terms of participant gender, race/ethnicity, and socio-economic status and intersectionality of these demographics?
6. Based on experience feedback from instructors, curriculum designers, JROTC instructors, and participants, how could this model be scaled in the future? What time and resources (e.g., PD for teachers, lab resources, cadet housing, etc.) would be needed to bring this or a similar program to other locales? Could virtual instruction beyond the summer program be a path for enhancing and encouraging participants to stay engaged in cybersecurity and computer science?

Investigating questions 1 through 4 from a question 5 perspective supports inquiry into broader impacts and is a crucial component of the JROTC-CS initiative. Question 6 is more general, but is essential in being able to scale this program across the country so that more cadets are able to participate in this program.

Hi Susan, thank you for watching our video. The scope of this project does not currently address K-12 math ed. However, as a higher ed faculty, I certainly understand the need for improvement in that area. Many of our incoming CS and software engineering majors have not received adequate preparation in math. Sometimes, they must take remedial math coursework to catch up. I assume you have also observed this. Often the math courses needed were available in their high school, but the student did not choose to take them. I think creating awareness among K-12 students of the math pathway that will best prepare them for a computing education/career pathway is something we can do in this project.

Hi Sarah,
I believe a negative experience with math can be a deterrence for those interested in STEM fields. Glad to see you are aware of the situation and taking action.