Amazon CS Ready Schools
What is the CS Ready Schools Program?
CodeVA is a nonprofit computer science (CS) advocacy organization, and Amazon Future Engineer is Amazon’s childhood-to-career CS program.
Together, CodeVA and Amazon Future Engineer are collaborating to make Virginia schools CS Ready!
CS Ready School Values
With an enhanced focus on reaching Title 1 and underserved schools, the CS Ready Program guarantees:
- ALL students have access to CS experiences
- ALL educators have knowledge and skills to integrate CS along with ongoing access to CS professional learning
- ALL school leaders have information and resources to ensure their school is implementing Virginia’s computer science education mandate
- Family and community stakeholders are aware of the school’s computer science initiative
Staff Commitment
Your school will form an Impact Team to steer it throughout the CS Ready planning and implementation process. The team should include a building leader/administrator, an instructional technology specialist/ITRT, and a classroom teacher. Each perspective is essential to support the school as a whole.
Staged Approach
The program consists of stages that carry schools through all the necessary steps to developing a functioning, personalized implementation plan.
- Stage 1: Focus is to determine the needs of the school and educate about computer science and the Virginia standards
- Stage 2: Focus is to design a plan for action with SMART goals and targets for the school’s unique needs
- Stage 3: Focus is on implementation and taking action on the plan from Stage 2 with CodeVA’s continued support
- Stage 4: Focus is on the iterative design cycle, assessing what is and is not working for the school in implementation
Time Commitment
The flexible format allows each school to work through stages at a realistic and effective pace for their needs, ideally working through Stages 1 and 2 the first year, with Stages 3 and 4 each taking a year to complete.
Program Components
- Each Impact Team is provided an Implementation Guide that outlines the program, a Digital Companion Canvas Course for information and collaboration, and a Community Workbook for each member. During the program, self-reflection and assessment tools will be provided as teams work through the stages.
- CodeVA hosts a live, virtual Kickoff and four subsequent Micro Sessions for Impact Team members to attend. In each event, resources are reviewed and modeled to assist the team in sharing out within the school.
- CodeVA offers quarterly Check-ins with schools in groups within a stage and individually as a school.
Want to learn more or get involved?
- Eager for more information? Register your interest here!
- Ready for your school to join? Complete the application here!
- Questions? Contact CS Ready Program Specialist Jessica Lawson at [email protected]
- Stay Informed: Sign up for CodeVA’s monthly newsletter at the bottom of this page and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
Read more about how Amazon Future Engineer partners with and supports CodeVA by checking the PR release about our partnership in our past blog post.