DISD (Dallas Independent School District) is in the first year of a three-year plan to expand computer science curriculum to all 151 elementary campuses. It’s one of the largest rollouts of computer science instruction in the nation, similar to recent efforts from major urban districts such as New York Public Schools and Florida’s Broward County Schools.

We’re preparing the city of Dallas to have a workforce that’s highly educated in computational thinking and computer science.

A tour through Frederick Douglass showed off the blueprint for the district’s plans. Each grade level was working on a computer science concept. Some classes worked on laptops and at computer stations, giving instructions to move an Angry Bird through a maze. Others did “unplugged” lessons -- grasping concepts but on paper or dry-erase boards.

In one kindergarten classroom, students gathered at an easel, learning the word “debug,” to fix a problem and try again. In a third-grade language class, students defined “algorithm,” and counted the word’s syllables: Al-Go-Ri-Thm.

It would be great if there were enough technology carts -- with laptops or tablets -- to go around, said principal Marquetta Masters. But there’s not, so teachers make do.

Read the full article by Corbett Smith at Dallas News