September 2025 Newsletter

This month, we want to celebrate all of the great things YOU all are doing to bring CS learning to your students! We wish you the best of luck in the new school year, and remind you to reach out to us for support and technical assistance.

The CSinPA team has a number of opportunities scheduled this fall. Visit this flyer to see what's coming up.

Want to see all the upcoming CSinPA professional learning opportunities for the 2025–2026 school year? Visit our PD at-a-glance page in the CS toolkit.

This 2025-26 school year, we’ll be launching a asynchronous/virtual 6-month educator cohort from October 2025 to March 2026 to help educators like you learn about a fully accessible programming language Quorum. This unique PD experience for all CS educators on how to use the Quorum programming language, specifically designed to be easy to learn and use for students of all abilities.

Participants in the cohort will receive a $350 stipend along with structured support, hands-on learning, best practices, and ready-to-use curriculum that includes interactive lessons, study aids, and activities. The program also fosters peer collaboration with a community of educators and industry experts, equipping teachers with valuable resources to integrate accessible programming into their classrooms.Visit our Smore for details and registration.

Registration is open for the Fall Cohort for the 7-12 Praxis Prep Pathway. This pathway engages 7-12 educators in activities to develop Computer Science (CS) content area knowledge and skills. As a result of the pathway, LEAs will have an educator ready to take and pass the 7-12 CS certification exam and to offer a standards-aligned middle or high school CS course.

Check out the SMORE for more information about the Fall and all upcoming 2025-26 cohorts.

Registration is open until September 8th for CSinPA’s FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Professional Learning Pathway!

The first cohort will run from September 1, 2025 - February 27, 2026, equipping 9-12 educators with the knowledge and skills to bring drone technology into their classrooms.

Through a mix of self-paced modules, live check-ins, and hands-on activities, participants will engage with TKU’s FAA Curriculum and design a unit plan aligned to CSTA, STEELS, and/or CTE standards.

Are you ready to empower your students with the skills they need to thrive in the fast-growing field of cybersecurity? We’re excited to invite you to join Cohort 2 of the 7–12/CTE Cybersecurity Education Pathway, a fully online professional development program designed to give you the tools, knowledge, and resources to implement a cutting-edge cybersecurity curriculum in your school.

Program Highlights:

• Flexible Learning: Attend one online check in session and complete one asynchronous module per month on your own pace.

• Industry-Aligned Curriculum: Align instruction with key standards and frameworks such as CSTA, NIST, and CIS.

• Hands-On Labs: Explore practical cybersecurity tools and techniques through interactive online labs.

• Capstone Project: Design and submit a cybersecurity unit map or lesson plan to showcase your learning.

• Stipend Provided: Participants who complete the pathway and capstone project will receive a $350 stipend.

Modules run October 2025 – May 2026, with a live virtual kickoff on October 16.

Register Here and join this exciting pathway to strengthen cybersecurity education in your classroom!

October of 2025: Revolutionary CTF Professional Development!

Join Pennsylvania educators for an intensive 2-day workshop that will transform how you teach cybersecurity through hands-on Capture the Flag challenges. The Professional Development will be offered at PaTTAN’s three convenient locations with no experience required!

The skills used in CTF competitions are the same hands-on methodology used by cybersecurity professionals worldwide.

More information will be provided soon on dates and times. If you are interested in this unique opportunity please fill out this interest form attached to this SMORE flyer.

Registration is now open for our Fall cohort of the K-8 Computer Science Professional Learning Pathway.The Pathway is 100% Virtual and will run October 2025 - April 2026.

The Pathway is provided at no cost, and Act 48 credit is available. Participants are also eligible to receive a $350 stipend if they successfully complete and submit all program expectations and deliverables. Click here to learn more about the pathway and register!

This pathway is open to all K–8 educators interested in integrating computer science into their curriculum. Participants will explore effective teaching strategies while delving into the fundamentals of computer science concepts and practices. Throughout the program, they will set goals to expand access to computer science education for their students and implement a small-scale pilot project.

Registration is now open for the first cohort of the 2025 - 2026 School year in our Micro-credential Program.

The following courses are available:

• AI in the Classroom: Introduction (2-hour)

• AI in the Classroom: Integrating AI to Support Student Learning (4- hour)

• Cybersecurity in the K-8 classroom: Introduction (2-hour)

• Using Music to Engage Students in CS Learning (4-hour)

• Empowering all students in CS Learning through a Behavioral approach (4-hour)

• Data Science in K–8 Classrooms: Connecting Concepts Through Computer Science (4-hour)

Additionally, Introduction to CS Education (3 hours) is available on the SAS website. This is our previous foundational CSinPA: Why, What, and How, which can be accessed through the PD Center on the Standards Aligned System (SAS) website. Click the link and follow the instructions to enroll.

We are excited to announce that we will be hosting the CS + AI Summit. Save the date for November 17-18 at PaTTAN Harrisburg. For more information, check out the Save the Date!

Registration is now open!

The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing (AiC) High School Award honors 9th - 12th grade students in the AiC Community for their computing-related achievements and interests, and encourages them to pursue their passions. Students in grades 9 through 12 involved in technology are welcome to join the free AiC Community and apply. Applications open September 1 and are due October 28. Encourage a student to apply and help spread the word.

The Hour of AI is a new global moment launching Fall 2025, built by the creators of the Hour of Code. It’s a free, easy, and exciting first step for students and educators to explore how to shape AI—and how to create with it.

Artificial intelligence is already changing how we learn, work, and live. Yet right now, many students are on the sidelines—using AI without understanding how it works, how to use it responsibly, or how to shape what’s coming next.

What if students of all ages could move from watchers to leaders?

What if they didn’t just use AI but helped decide how it changes the world?

Hour of AI aims to drive student and teacher engagement in AI by demystifying the black box. This year’s theme is “Lead with Empowerment.” Find out more about the engaging, hands-on activities on this site.

Curious about how school counselors can help students build career readiness through Computer Science knowledge and skills?

Check out our new resource that connects the PA Career Ready Skills (PA CRS) and CSTA Computer Science Standards—with references to the ASCA Mindsets and Behaviors and Pennsylvania Career Education and Work (CEW) Standards.

With guidance from the Pennsylvania Department of Education and co-sponsorship from the Expanding Computing Education Pathways (ECEP) Alliance, the CSinPA team is facilitating a small writing committee to develop Pennsylvania’s first state plan for K-12 CS and AI. The committee began the work in August and are working to stick to this timeline:

• October, 2025: First draft completed and shared with small external group for feedback

• November, 2025: Second draft completed

• December 2025 - January, 2026: Public feedback

• January, 2026: Third and near-final draft completed

• March, 2025: Plan is published

Stay tuned for updates along the way, including opportunities to provide feedback!

We will be hosting a statewide SCRIPT workshop on October 15th at PaTTAN Harrisburg. SCRIPT stands for Strategic CSforAll Resource and Implementation Planning Tool.

SCRIPT is a workshop developed by CSforALL to guide K-12 CS stakeholders in creating or expanding a K-12 CS education implementation plan for their students. Stay tuned for new updates!

We’re excited to launch Cyber Bytes, a new monthly webinar series running October through June on our Community of Practice. Each month we’ll dive into timely, relevant, and engaging cybersecurity topics designed to support educators, students, and communities in building a safer digital future.

Upcoming Topics

• October – Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Staying Cyber Safe Every Day
  

• November – Cyber Ethics & Digital Citizenship: Doing What’s Right Online
  

• December – Cybersecurity Careers: Pathways to a Cyber Future
  
  

Each session will provide:

• Insights from experts

• Classroom-ready activities

• Tools and strategies you can use immediately

Visit the Cyber Bytes Monthly Webinar Flyer for more information.

Beginning in September, the CSinPA team will be hosting a series of webinars covering all the different ways AI is impacting education. Visit the AI Webinar Series Smore for updates and information.

Upcoming Topics

9/16 3:30 - 4:30 – AI Literacy for All Educators

9/23 10:00 - 11:00 – AI for Lesson Planning and Differentiation

10/2 2:00 - 3:00 – Student Data, Privacy, and AI

Visit the AI in Education Webinar Series flyer for more information.

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