In St Vrain Valley Schools, we emphasize the importance of community relationships at a number of levels: tapping into the vast resource of public insight and expertise, collaborating with community organizations and individuals to provide academic excellence for our students, and providing our students the opportunity to learn from collective and individual expertise through projects and mentorships. We know from both research and experience that our students develop a fuller and deeper appreciation of the world around them as they connect with a range of people from diverse backgrounds and viewpoints. And, from the opposite perspective, we believe that our community will gain perspective by participating in a discussion about our broader educational goals.

Meaningful Experiences

Computer science (CS) connections with our local and global community promise to create meaningful and tangible experiences for our students. At this point in time, St Vrain students experience computer science in a variety of ways throughout and outside of the regular school day. Experiences vary by school, so check with individual schools for the depth and breadth of their particular CS programs. One common thread, however, is exposure to computer science during CSEd week, December 5-11, 2016.

St. Vrain Valley Schools will be celebrating CSEd week in a variety of ways. Students and teachers will explore computer science by programming robots, writing code, engaging in digital citizenship and literacy activities, and learning about the role computers play in day-to-day life. They’ll also learn about different careers in this field through guest visits by professionals and industry partners. Computer science underlies innovative and creative practices in the 21st century and we are looking forward to exposing our students and community to this field throughout the year, but particularly during the first full week of December. We invite you to follow CSEd week events throughout the district at our website, and on social media using the #svvsdcsed.

How can you participate?

We are always open to ideas, so please fill out our interest form to let us know what you’re thinking! We’ll start the ball rolling with a few ideas of our own…

• Share your expertise at our schools: If you have experience in a computer science position, or can speak to the impact of computer science on your company or field, please consider coming to speak to our students, either virtually or in person. You can volunteer anytime, but we will be waiting to match experts from the community with open classrooms during the week of December 5th through 11th. Please fill out our form if this option speaks to you.
• Even if you don’t work in computer science or have knowledge of the field, we would love to have community volunteers participate in our schools during CSEd week. This has ranged from helping students with Hour of Code activities to leading small groups in teacher-constructed CS lessons. No matter your level of expertise, volunteers in classrooms can go a long way to not only help our teachers, but also to demonstrate to students that other adults in the community are interested in and invested in computer science education.
• Volunteer at local CSEd week events. Check out the calendar of events on our website and fill out our involvement form to let us know which you’d be interested in helping out with. Or, if you have an idea for a local event or know of one that is already happening, please make sure we know about it on the form!