CSforALL Announces Virtual 2021 Summit in October
2021 CSforALL Summit is confirmed to be held virtually on October 19th and 20th
CSforALL’s Alli sitting on a chair at the 2019 CSforALL Summit in Salt Lake City, Utah
WHY WAS THE DECISION MADE TO HOLD THE 2021 CSforALL SUMMIT VIRTUALLY?
As we enter the middle of summer 2021, CSforALL understands that the pandemic hasn’t ended, many individuals have been vaccinated, some haven’t, we as a nation haven’t reached herd immunity, however, we are regaining normalcy in many elements of our lives.
The decision to hold this year’s CSforALL Summit virtually includes those known facts along with prioritizing the safety and health of our staff, attendees, and stakeholders, and acknowledging travel restrictions for community members are situational due to various factors.
HOW WAS THIS DECISION MADE?
The decision to have this year’s CSforALL Summit virtually was done in a collaborative manner with the CSforALL team and the Computer Science for ALL community. CSforALL opened a public survey in April to collect personal and professional input from individuals about their thoughts on whether the 2021 CSforALL Summit should be virtual, in-person, or hybrid. Questions varied from in-person event size to travel restrictions, CSforALL collected close to 200 responses from school districts, universities, CSforALL members, tech organizations, and more.
With the collected data from the external survey, our internal team’s survey, and the CDC’s COVID health guidelines, the CSforALL team has made the decision to host a two-day virtual event on October 19th and 20th.
As much as we would have loved to see you in Memphis this year, the health and safety of our attendees, partners, and staff will continue to be our number one priority.
WHEN IS THE VIRTUAL SUMMIT GOING TO HAPPEN?
We’re thrilled to announce that the 2021 CSforALL Summit will be held on Tuesday, October 19th and Wednesday, October 20th. Stay tuned for more information around session times.
HOW ARE YOU MAKING THIS EVENT ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE?
As we continue to climb out of a global pandemic, we recognize that organizations, states, school districts, and individuals have budgetary restrictions, our virtual event will remove a lot of geographic and financial barriers for our attendees and stakeholders.
As we continue to select our virtual platform, our must-have elements include live captioning and/or real-time ASL translations. Additionally, the recording of the event will have accurate captions on it before it is shared out afterwards.
If any additional accommodations need to be made, participants will be asked to share on the registration form.
CAN WE PARTNER OR SPONSOR?
Yes! As in previous CSforALL Summits, CSforALL is excited to collaborate and partner with stakeholders, organizations, and individuals that are interested in supporting the national mission of bringing high-quality, inclusive, and sustainable computer science education to all students. See our 2019 Summit supporters, here.
Stay tuned for full access to our 2021 prospectus. For any questions or inquiries about sponsorship opportunities, please contact: Megan Hildebrand at megan@CSforALL.org.
ARE COMMITMENTS STILL GOING TO BE ANNOUNCED?
Yes! We are extremely excited to announce the fifth year of CSforALL Commitments at this year’s Summit in October. This year’s theme is Change Happens with Partnerships in Places, we will be announcing and highlighting organizations that make Commitments in these five categories:
At our 2020 CSforALL Commitments Showcase, the national Computer Science Education community announced 165 new efforts from 127 organizations to advance computer science education access and opportunity for youth across the United States and beyond.
Our 2019 Summit garnered over 250 new CS education commitments from over 171 organizations, launching millions of CS education opportunities for youth and educators.
WHAT’S THE CSforALL SUMMIT:
The CSforALL Summit is an annual convening of the national community of computer science educators, researchers, and activists to mark progress and announce new commitments to reach the goal of access to rigorous, inclusive, and sustainable computer science education for all United States students.