Work in progress - Project La Costa: IT experiences for 8-10 graders in South Texas

The results of years two and three of the CSTEP Computer Science Training Academy Program (La COSTA) are described and evaluated. Project La COSTA consists of a three-year educational information technology (IT) experience for eighth, ninth and tenth grade Hispanic boys and girls in five Central and South Texas school districts. Project La COSTA includes 120 hours of after-school, weekend, and summer activities integrating computer skills, family involvement, role modeling, tutoring, mentoring, career development, and externships. This project is a geographically distributed, informal IT education program that addresses the technical, social and economic needs of the students. In addition to leveraging the expertise of IT professionals and academicians, the project builds a network of family members, mentors and tutors to support student progress on an IT career path. The curriculum for years two and three, emphasizing programming, problem solving, reasoning, and workplace readiness, and the results of student surveys are discussed.