Computer Science for All

Launched in 2015, Computer Science for All (CS4All) is an unprecedented public-private partnership ensuring all New York City students receive high-quality computer science education in elementary, middle, and high school. The public-private partnership represents an $81 million investment shared by the public and private sectors. 

In New York City, jobs that require knowledge of computer science are growing at twice the national average. Mayor Bill de Blasio said in 2016, “The city’s tech industry is growing, yet before Computer Science for All, fewer than five percent of our public school students had even the most basic skills necessary to apply for these jobs." 

Through CS4All, students are receiving equitable access to skills that can pave new college and career possibilities for students, particularly for female, Black, and Latino students often underrepresented in technical fields. At the same time, CS4All provides the technology sector with the opportunity to build a robust and dynamic talent pipeline. 

Computer science provides students with the unique opportunity of learning computational thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and critical thinking—all critical components of a student’s success. In addition, students who learn computer science improve 21st century skills that are important for life far beyond high school, including collaboration, communicating and creating with technology, and developing their understanding of technologies used daily. 

CS4All is well on its way to meeting the goal of bringing high-quality computer science education to every New York City public school student, K-12, by training 5,000 educators to teach computer science by 2025. 

Now in its sixth year, CS4All has trained more than 2,025 teachers across 825 schools. In the 2019-20 school year alone, 170,000 New York City students learned computer science, more than the number of students in most school districts in the United States. With the implementation of CS4All, the number of students taking an AP CS exam in 2019 rose to more than 5,500 students, compared to only 1,137 students in 2016. In addition, New York City had a higher percentage of female, black and Hispanic students take the AP CS Principles exam in 2018 than did nationwide.

CS4All has also led the development of the CS4All Blueprint, an online academic and pedagogical guide for New York City educators to deliver rigorous and equitable computer science education in their classrooms. The Blueprint serves as the foundation for all of the professional learning trainings that teachers and school leaders receive through the CS4All initiative.

Students also receive engagement opportunities that deepen their exposure to computer science by applying their skills to solve real-life problems. This includes opportunities such as hackathons, internships, family and community events, as well as showcases, which celebrate student work in computer science. 

CS4All is being rigorously evaluated on implementation and teaching and learning outcomes by New York University’s Research Alliance for New York City Schools and the Education Development Center. The evaluation partners are conducting research on teaching practices, assessment tools, and model comparison for integrating computer science within schools.

CS4All is a public-private partnership with New York City supported by a range of foundations, corporations, nonprofits, families, and individuals. Major partners include: Solomon Wilson Family Foundation; Robin Hood; Robin Hood Learning + Technology Fund; Math for America (MfA); Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc.; Verizon; Airbnb; Carson Family Charitable Trust; Hutchins Family Foundation; IAC; Paulson Family Foundation; David Karp; Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen, & Katz; Hearst Foundations; Brian O’Kelley and Elizabeth Rovere; Siegel Family Endowment; Google; Ron Conway Family; The Rudin Foundation; The May & Samuel Rudin Family Foundation; Howard and Wendy Lerman; Zara and David Tisch; Arconic Foundation; Accenture; Och Family Foundation; Craig Newmark Philanthropies; ABNY Foundation; Capital One; Rattner Family Foundation; Liz Lange and David Shapiro; Amanda and Jonathan Eilian; Kevin Ryan; Medidata; and WorldQuant Foundation.

The Fund for Public Schools, CSNYC, and the Office of Strategic Partnerships at City Hall work together to develop and manage these partnerships.

If you or your organization would like to support CS4All, please make a commitment today.