2004 Campus-Community Partnerships

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Beyond

Abstract:

In the 21st century, computer science is integral knowledge across disciplines, and despite outsourcing of less technical jobs, rewarding opportunities exist for those who have this knowledge and expertise. While computer scientists at UCLA continue to push technological boundaries in multiple fields, young people in neighboring communities surrounding UCLA, especially African-American and Latino/a youth, are commonly exposed to only the most basic user computing skills (Margolis and Holme, 2003). Although, youth are attracted to technology, too many African-American and Latino/a youth are not given the same preparation and learning opportunities in computing as youth from more affluent and white areas. A partnership has been formed among the Henry Samueli School of Applied Science and Engineering, the Graduate School of Education and Information Studies/IDEA, and the Los Angeles Unified School District to address this. The first endeavor of this partnership is a pilot two-week summer institute for high school computer science teachers. The heart of this summer s institute will be the exchange between UCLA faculty/ researchers and high school educators to develop ways to reach and engage more underrepresented youth with this science. Collaboration between UCLA and LAUSD will continue over the following academic year.