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Hello CSTA Washington members and friends!
Spring brings a burst of new growth and this edition of the CSTA Washington newsletter is no different. Inside, you’ll find a collection of opportunities, insights, and celebrations to support your computer science teaching practice.
Learn about the FutureReady Committee’s work to strengthen Washington’s graduation requirements for computer science and explore how you can “Audit the AI” across your courses, engage disengaged students, and understand copyright law in our new digital world. Celebrate student success with highlights from the Congressional App Challenge and the NCWIT AiC awards, and see which schools and districts are leading the way for girls in computer science in 2023–24.
We also invite you to connect with the community at our annual STEP CS Welcome Event on April 27. And if you’re ready to help even more ideas take root, consider applying to join the CSTA Washington board for the upcoming school year, applications are coming in May.
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STEP CS Welcome Event
CSTA Washington is hosting its annual reception for students in the STEP CS program on Monday, April 27th, from 6:30-8:30 PM on the University of Washington campus!
All are invited. Attendance is free. To find out more and to register (by April 20th), visit the STEP CS Welcome Event 2026 page.
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CSTAWA Board Nominations and Elections are coming in May!
We are looking for innovative and passionate leaders to help cultivate and deliver CS education for our state's students. Although the board works closely together as a unified team, the following board positions are open for the 26-27 year:
- Treasurer
- VP Coastal (ESD 113, 114, and 189)
- VP Education
Each role will require about 3-5 hours of commitment per month. No experience is required.
Nomination forms and position descriptions will be sent in the beginning of May.
| | CS, Technology and Media Literacy Graduation Recommendations | | |
New Computer Science Graduation Requirements may soon be coming for Washington state! The recommended graduation requirements focus on equipping all graduates with core Computer Science and Digital Literacy skills-from basic computer use and online safety to critical thinking about information and AI, technology’s role across industries and computing's impact on society.
Read more about the proposed graduation recommendations by the Future Ready Subcommitee for Computer Science, Technology and Media Literacy here: https://www.cstawa.org/cs-technology-and-media-literacy-graduation-recommendations/
| | New CSTA Washington Bylaws Now Official | | On April 1, the Board of Directors of CSTA (national) approved the bylaws voted on by CSTA Washington members in January. These bylaws are now official. To access the bylaws and for more information, please visit 2026 Bylaws Update: Key Changes You Should Know on the CSTA Washington website. | | |
Rubber Duck
Spotlight
Lunch-and-Learn Spring 2026
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On Saturday, March 21 from 12:00 - 2:00 PM and beyond, CSTA Washington hosted several Washington (and Oregon) educators for Lunch and Learn Spring 2026 - a virtual professional development event. Many participants stayed long after the two hours for additional Q&A and networking.
CSTA Responsible AI Fellow Denise Thompson of Orting High School presented a lesson plan on AI and Copyright. CSTA Impact Fellow Anthony Barba of East Valley High School in Yakima presented on Engaging the Disengaged.
Washington educators could obtain three clock hours by attending this session and completing a “homework” assignment on CS education in their district using the resources in Washington CS and CTE Education Analytics 2025
All of the presentations and resources provided as part of the Lunch and Learn are available on the Lunch and Learn Mar 21 article on the CSTA Washington website.
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Free Classroom
Resources Share
Science News Learning
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Science News Learning Graph of the Week “Total energy consumption of a compressed and uncompressed AI mode”
Science News Learning is free for teachers sign up
Activity 👉 https://www.sciencenews.org/learning
“Audit the AI”
Computer science teachers can help others see that AI isn’t just for cheating, it can be a learning tool. The “Audit the AI” lesson teaches students to find mistakes in AI outputs, helping them show real understanding. Read more here.
Activity 👉 Audit the AI
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NCWIT AiC Washington Award Winners 2026
Aadya Syal of Sammamish, WA and Issaquah High School was one of the 40 National Winners of the NCWIT (National Center for Women in Technology) Aspirations in Computing (AiC) Awards which were announced in early March.
In addition, ten Washington students received honorable mention awards: Shyla Agrawal (Bothell), Anusha Arora (Bellevue), Emily Gallardo (Sunnyside), Aishwarya Kumaran (Bothell), Tvisha Mishra (Bothell), Siri Mutalik Desai (Redmond), Hamsini Ramanathan (Sammamish), Vaanya Sharma (Redmond), Cindy Yang (Redmond), Natalie Zhang (Sammamish).
To learn more about the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing awards and how to participate in next year’s awards, visit the article on the CSTA Washington website.
| | 2025 Congressional App Challenge Winners | | |
Over the past few weeks, participating Washington congressional districts announced the winners of the Congressional App Challenge for 2025 in their districts:
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WA01 (Suzan DelBene): AnemoDx by Isabella Li, Hiya Pandey, and Aya Mehta (Redmond HS)
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WA02 (Rick Larsen): Epidemic Wars: The 2100 Era by Dylan Pham and Henry Pham (Explorer MS)
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WA03 (Marie Gluesenkamp Perez): CanScreen by Alyssa Wong, Chloe Luo, and Liya Zhao (Camus HS)
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WA04 (Dan Newhouse): GlucoBone: A Non-Invasive Early Detection Sensor System for Diabetes and Bone Disorders by Akshath Motkuri (Richland HS)
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WA05 (Michael Baumgartner): Chest Flow AI by Chika Ugorji (Ferris HS)
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WA06 (Emily Randall): JourneyKeep by Garner Hall and Andrew Zhang (Bainbridge HS, Portola HS)
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WA07 (Pramila Jayapal): Medlas AI by Neev Ansel and Rithik Sundaram (Lake Washington HS, Roosevelt HS)
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WA08 (Kim Schrier): MediConnect by Pranav Venkatesh, Aviv Chatterjee, Aadi Saraf, and Ikhtyar Esmail (Eastlake HS, International Community School)
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WA09 (Adam Smith): MirrorMe by Gia Gupta (Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences )
To learn more about the Congressional App Challenge in Washington and how students can participate in the 2026 Competition, visit the article on the CSTA Washington website
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Top Schools and Districts for Girls in CSEd
2023-2024
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While Washington does significantly better than national averages in providing CS education to underserved populations, it trails national averages in the percentage of girl students participating in CSEd relative to the percentage of boys. In Washington, there are over two boys for every girl participating in CS education.
The dashboard CS Education in Washington Demographic Drilldown 2019-24 provides data on the percentage of girls enrolled in CS, percentage of boys enrolled in CS, and and the Gender Relative CS Participation Rate (Girl CS Participation Rate / Boy CS Participation Rate) for each school, district, and ESD.
Using the data from the drilldown dashboard, we can identify the schools and districts that had the highest Gender Relative CS Participation Rate in 2023-24. (Gender CS Participation Rate in parentheses):
- District: Granite Falls School District (104.8%)
- High School: Connell High School (151.9%)
- Middle School: International School (112.0%)
To see the full list of top (and bottom) schools and districts for girls in Washington 2023-24, see the article Top Schools and Districts for Girls in CSEd 2023-24 on the CSTA Washington Website.
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Thank you for being part of our community and for inspiring the next generation of technology creators. We’re grateful to be rebuilding this community together and appreciate your ongoing commitment to computer science education across Washington. Your passion and dedication are what make CSTA Washington strong!
With gratitude,
The CSTA WA Team
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