9 Dots

Only 7% of elementary students have access to a Computer Science (CS) course, and access is even rarer in low-income communities. 9 Dots bridges this gap by bringing CS curriculum directly to classrooms, ensuring every child has an equal learning opportunity. We build sustainable CS learning pathways by training public school teachers to become CS instructors. Serving nearly 10,000 students and training 360 public school teachers in 30 low-income elementary schools across Los Angeles, we prepare today’s students for tomorrow’s success.

Research estimates that only 7.3% of elementary students have access to a foundational Computer Science (CS) course; opportunities are even rarer for students in low-income communities. 9 Dots offers a powerful solution. Currently bringing in-class CS curriculum to about 9,000 K-6 students and 350 teachers at Title I elementary schools throughout LA, 9 Dots teaches kids the CS skills needed to thrive in our technological world.

Research estimates that only 7.3% of elementary students have access to a foundational Computer Science (CS) course; opportunities are even rarer for students in low-income communities. 9 Dots offers a powerful solution. Currently bringing in-class CS curriculum to over 8,000 K-6 students and 300 teachers at Title I elementary schools throughout LA, 9 Dots teaches kids the CS skills needed to thrive in our technological world.

Coding builds computational thinking and problem solving skills that are critical in STEM learning across subject areas yet there is no common standard for measuring K-6 coding proficiency. 9 Dots seeks a $100,000 grant to support our Get Coding program and close the achievement gap with significant CS learning outcomes for underserved students, while developing and applying more meaningful definitions and measurements for proficiency, including mastery of core coding concepts, difficulty levels, and underlying problem solving processes.

9 Dots is seeking a $100,000 LA2050 grant to support a high quality K-6 computer science (CS) education for 6500 elementary school students and to provide CS instructional training to over 200 teachers at 25 Title I elementary schools. Our goal is to provide local underserved students with a complete K-6 CS educational pipeline, from unplugged activities in Kindergarten to an introduction to JavaScript (the language of professional coders) as early as the 5th grade.