CSTA / Infosys Foundation USA Computer Science Teaching Excellence Award
The CS Teaching Excellence Awards are designed to recognize outstanding teaching by K–12 computer science teachers. Winners excel in inspiring students to explore the computer science field, engaging students in learning rigorous standards-aligned computer science content, and broadening the participation of underrepresented students in computing. CSTA will select at least three K-5 CS teachers and three 6-8 teachers of the fifteen national winners. These awards were made possible by a grant from Infosys Foundation USA.
This year, the program has been expanded to recognize over 48 teachers!
- 15 national winners
- 5 national honorable mentions
- 28 regional winners from the following areas:
- New England: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont
- Four Corners: Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah
- CSTA Arizona
- CSTA Indiana
- CSTA Iowa
- CSTA Miami
- CSTA South Carolina
- CSTA Wyoming
Know an outstanding Computer Science teacher? Nominate them to apply today.
Student Scholarships Available
CSTA Cutler-Bell Prize
CSTA has opened applications for the 2022–2023 Cutler-Bell Prize, which looks to recognize up to four high school senior students residing in the US for their projects in CS. Winners will receive a $10,000 prize to go to their college/university of choice. Applications are due by Jan. 27, 2023.
Share the application with your students
Iowa CS opportunities:
Interested in obtaining the CS endorsement for free or greatly reduced pricing?
The National Science Foundation has awarded the Computer Science Education program at the University of Northern Iowa a new grant under the NSF CSForAll: RPP program. This grant, totaling nearly $1,000,000 from 2023-2025 will help the program scale up its earlier research work to provide access to coursework leading towards CS Endorsement #278 to teachers in all corners of the state of Iowa.
The program will consist of two cohorts of teachers.
Cohort A will focus on teachers from three of the state’s AEAs – Central Rivers, Grant Wood, and Northwest. This cohort will provide the five-course sequence from June 2023-December 2024. Teachers in the program will take online coursework through UNI and participate in “monthly” face-to-face Communities of Practice (COPs) facilitated at the partner AEAs. Approximately 25 teachers from each AEA will be awarded scholarships for free tuition for the entire program while additional teachers may participate for a significantly reduced tuition of less than $300 per course.
Cohort B (June 2024-December 2025) will expand to hopefully partner with the remaining six AEAS providing the same benefits of free and reduced tuition to all teachers involved.
Teachers interested in receiving additional information about the program as more details are released can register their interest by completing the following form:
Secondary CS Endorsement for FREE with National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant!
Grant Wood AEA is thrilled to announce our partnership with CSED@UNI and Central Rivers AEA to provide scholarships for secondary CS endorsements at no cost for educators in our area. The team was awarded $1,000,000 for a three-year program to increase the number of educators with the CS endorsement and build communities of practice across Iowa.
Information: Learn more about the scholarship program on this flyer.
Interest Form: Complete this interest form to be sent additional information and an application by Jan. 31, 2023
Contact: Corey Rogers (crogers@gwaea.org) or Ben Schafer (schafer@cs.uni.edu) with questions.
Iowa Department of Education Grant Opportunities Available:
- Computer Science Professional Development Incentive Fund (CSPDIF) – application deadline has passed. Stay tuned on this opportunity next fall.
- Computer Science Incentive Fund – Endorsement Fund. The grant application is open until May 31, 2023. This application is for Computer Science and 5-12 CTE Information Technology endorsements ONLY. Reimbursement funding may cover tuition (up to maximum of $705/credit), textbooks (up to $300) and associated fees. Mileage, stipends and/or sub fees are NOT permitted. Reimbursement funds go to the district, not the teacher(s). All tuition expenses must be paid prior to June 30, 2023.
- Computer Science SCRIPT workshop and ongoing support: Districts/schools may use funding not only for their initial SCRIPT workshop but also for additional SCRIPT support from their local AEA. Applicants will be awarded funding on a rolling basis until funding runs out. Stipends are only allowed for off-contract work. Maximum sub pay amount is $150/day, based on the school’s regular rate. Maximum stipend amount is $20/hour or $160/day, based on the school’s regular rate. Administrator stipends will be covered as permitted by their contract.
- Curriculum & Professional Development Grant: This grant is for specific curriculum and professional development outlined on the website. Grants will be awarded on a rolling basis until funds have been exhausted.
More information can be found on the Iowa Department of Education’s Computer Science grant site, the grant overview document, and on Iowagrants.gov.