Every Little Bit Counts: Experiences and Lessons Learned Building a Community Outreach Program from the Ground Up

Large scale efforts, such as CS4All and Hour of Code, have made significant progress in attracting more students to computing as well as attracting underrepresented groups. However, even with these large efforts, there is still work to be done to help increase diversity and ensure computing jobs are not left unfilled. The authors will present their experiences in creating a Community Outreach program known as CS+ at Baldwin Wallace University. They will share the model that was created for CS+ to ensure continuity and scalability in the program. Even with a small team, CS+ has made significant progress towards their mission in providing opportunities for students to learn computing that have limited access to similar programs. The poster will include organizational details of the group including recruitment of students, positions they hold, and the vision and mission of the program. The poster will also share experiences in partnering with teachers at local school districts, attracting students to the program, and partnering with the education department as well as community organizations. The poster will include sample content that is used in camps and clubs as well as a site where all of the content can be accessed. While our efforts alone may not have the same impact as large organizations, by inspiring other institutions to start similar programs, we can reach underrepresented groups and those that lack confidence in computing to help bridge the gap in diversity and meet the demand of computing jobs that are available.