Giving Compass' Take:

• EdSurge reports on the emergence of STEMpath, a graduate-level certification program for computer science educators, which could help schools keep up with the high demand for such professionals in their ranks. 

• STEMpath's creation is a collaborative effort among higher learning organizations, including a nonprofit. Could this be a model for other orgs that see an opportunity to expand math and science education?

• Also, be sure to read about the effort to expand girls' coding camps.

In an environment of 21st century demand from tech-hungry students, educators are largely stuck with out-of-date or insufficient training to keep up with demand. Particularly in the area of computer science (CS), schools need more qualified teachers.

Public-private partnerships are one way to address the nation-wide shortage of computer science-trained educators, and the latest comes in the form of STEMpath, a new graduate-level educator certification program that isn't quite a master's degree. STEMpath is a joint effort between multiple organizations, including the nonprofit mindSpark Learning; Couragion; Metropolitan State University; and Colorado Succeeds — which are all geared toward educators interested in pursuing STEM-CS credentials.

Only a handful of states require a CS certification to teach Advanced Placement (AP) CS courses, but Melissa Risteff, a strategist on the STEMpath leadership team, points out that beyond the AP realm states are requiring that every district and school provide CS, thus the growing need for qualified educators.

“Last I tallied, 84 percent of states had some sort of policy, graduation requirement, CS/STEM endorsements or seals, and/or dedicated funding to expand access and quality of CS education,” says Risteff, CEO and co-founder of Denver-based Couragion, a women-owned, educational technology social enterprise supported by public and private entities. “AP computer science courses are for the final mile in secondary school. We need to start computer science education for our students eight to 10 years earlier to grow CS pathway participation.”

Read the full article about STEMpath's attempts to boost roster of computer science educators by Greg Thompson at EdSurge.