September 2026

Washington CSEd Standards Revision Process

The official release of the 2026 CSTA PK-12 Computer Science Standards in July was the unofficial kickoff for the Washington Computer Science Standards revision. OSPI will begin surveying Washington educators this fall with a schedule to adopt new Computer Science Standards in the second half of 2028.

OSPI emphasizes that educator feedback and input are essential to the standards process. Stay tuned to OSPI publications (and this newsletter) for updates.

For more on the process to revise Washington’s Computer Science standards, please visit CSTAWA.org at Washington CS Standards Revision Process.

Correction: This article corrects our August newsletter that reported that Washington would adopt new computer science standards during the 2026-27 school year.

When We Return: Strength, Community, and Hope

CSTA Washington hosted a booth for the first time at the WA-ACTE Conference in Spokane, Aug 2-5, 2026.

The Spokane Complex Fire significantly affected the conference. CSTA Washington Eastern North VP Trish Henry had planned to support CSTA Washington’s efforts at WA-ACTE but was forced to evacuate her home the day before the event. Although her home survived major damage, many of her neighbors’ did not. See Trish’s message to her fellow computer science educators in the aftermath of the Spokane Complex Fire:

When We Return: Strength, Community, and Hope.

CSTA Washington released the 2026 version of its Washington CTE Growth and Demographics dashboard at WA-ACTE. This Tableau visualization explores CTE (Career and Technical Education) growth and distribution in Washington from SY 2019-20 to SY 2024-25, covering overall enrollments, career clusters and CIP codes, gender, race/ethnicity, income, ELL status, and disability status.

Washington CTE Growth and Demographics 2026

Interested in Cybersecurity Education?

Visit Launching CSTA Washington’s Cybersecurity Interest Group to join before our launch date on Oct 1. In the meantime, check out some of the cybersecurity resources we’ve already assembled at our Aug 2026 Prelaunch Status blog post or our growing list of #cybersecurity posts on CSTAWA.org.

Teaching a Standalone AI course?

OSPI has established the first course codes in Washington for standalone AI courses for the 2026-27 school year. If you are teaching a standalone AI course this school year or are thinking of starting one, please visit New AI Course Codes from OSPI

South Sound Meetup on Sep 16

It's here! Another school year filled with new students, ideas and pedagogical strategies. Come build community with other South Sound CS educators IRL(!) at Seven Seas Brewery in Tacoma on September 16th from 4:00-6:00ish!

For more info and to RSVP, visit the event page.

Open Board Meeting on Oct 7

Are you interested in learning more about the new CSTA Washington and the our plans for the 2026-27 school year? Please join us for our next quarterly open meeting (virtual) on Oct 7 from 6:00 to 7:00 PM.

Click here to register and receive a Zoom link.

Member Spotlight: Nick Harker

Nick Harker is starting his first year as a full-time computer science teacher at Spanaway Lake HS (Bethel SD) this September. Undaunted, he also volunteered to become CSTA Washington’s Treasurer this summer - making Nick our most intriguing new board member. To learn more about Nick’s journey, visit his member profile on CSTAWA.org.e onoonon o

Rubber Duck Spotlight: 3rd Annual PNW "Back to School" Lunch and Learn

It was not necessarily a "quiet summer” as many CS educators from across the Pacific Northwest and beyond got together to highlight their experiences from various summer conferences and professional developments at our 3rd annual “Back to School” CSTA PNW Lunch and Learn, on Aug 29th.

Feeling FOMO? Check out the recap and get the slide deck from the CSTAWA.org blog post: 3rd Annual PNW Regional Lunch and Learn.

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!

Welcome back to school!

With gratitude,

The CSTA Washington Team

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