‘An amazing opportunity for us to reach beyond campus.’ Stanford brings CS 105 to high schools

From 2021 through 2024, more than 1,100 students from under-resourced high schools have enrolled in the Stanford course CS 105: Introduction to Computers. This innovative educational effort was launched by Patrick Young, a Stanford computer science lecturer who has taught CS 105 to Stanford undergraduates on campus for more than 20 years. Working with Stanford Digital Education and the nonprofit National Education Equity Lab, Patrick has brought this college-credit-bearing course to Title I high schools nationwide, from Brooklyn to the San Fernando Valley, from Miami to Honolulu. The goal is to help create new pathways to college. In this video, Patrick talks about how such a rigorous course can enable high school students to thrive. He is joined by a teacher and principal at Birmingham Community Charter High School in Los Angeles who describe how the course has strengthened their students' confidence and sense of what is possible — a point echoed by two students in the course and by the Stanford undergraduate who serves as a CS 105 teaching fellow for the Birmingham students.

Learn more about Stanford courses for under-resourced high schools.

Transcript

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PATRICK YOUNG, lecturer, Stanford Computer Science Department: I'm Patrick Young. I'm a lecturer in the Stanford CS Department. And I've been teaching at Stanford for over 25 years.

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I've had this opportunity to be a teacher at Stanford. How can I take that and really make a difference in the wider world? And I think this is just an amazing opportunity for us to reach out beyond our campus, to take what we have here and really share it with people further out.

MARITHZA MEJIA, student at Birmingham Community Charter High School: It makes us all feel extra grateful for the opportunity because a professor from Stanford isn't going to come and teach us all in person.

MATTHEW ESCOBEDO, student at Birmingham Community Charter High School: Going to college is a scary thought for a lot of people, even though it's also a dream for a lot of people.

LINDSAY HUMPHREY, teacher at Birmingham Community Charter High School: Looks like we're getting close.

I am an English teacher here at Birmingham Community Charter High School. And I have the privilege of being a participating teacher for Computer Science 105 through Stanford, as well as several other National Education Equity Lab classes. The hybrid model that brings the Stanford CS 105 class to Birmingham is wonderful because it's got three elements.

The first one is the professor. And Professor Young has recorded these wonderful video lectures. The students watch them anywhere, anytime. The second part of the model is our teaching fellow. We've had amazing teaching fellows. They are Stanford students or alumni. They are much closer in age to the students. And they have such enthusiasm for the content.

VARUN MADAN, teaching fellow: So we did not utilize any of these Python functions.

LINDSAY HUMPHREY: In the case of Varun, we're literally looking into his dorm room every day in class. And so it really helps the students see themselves at Stanford or at a place like Stanford, and frankly see themselves in college.

And then the third element of the hybrid model is me as the classroom teacher. I'm there to help them with college ready skills, with executive functioning, with getting organized.

MATTHEW ESCOBEDO: We meet with Varun once a week, our teaching fellow. And he's extremely helpful. He's with us in the class, basically. He's one of us, I'd say.

VARUN MADAN: They're very, very on top of their work. And it's so awesome to see their growth. Even in the span of like nine weeks, they've become so much more interested in computer science. And that makes me quite happy.

PATRICK YOUNG: So CS 105 is an introduction to computer science generally for non-technical students. My main objectives in CS 105 are help students have a good understanding of how computers work, how they interact with computers, how a professional would interact with a computer.

It is designed for students who are not necessarily planning to become programmers. So in that sense, I think it's pretty well set up for Ed Equity Lab.

ARI BENNETT, principal at Birmingham Community Charter High School: Birmingham offers the Stanford Ed Equity program because it's important for our students to have proof points of what they can do. Birmingham is an amazing place, a lot of pride and tradition. We serve neighborhood students. 95% are non-whites, 90% free and reduced lunch. Having that experience, I think, unleashes the opportunity. It's like, if I can be successful in the Stanford course, I can apply to any university in the country.

PATRICK YOUNG: Students out in high schools are doing the exact same workload as the students here at Stanford. We have a series of lectures to watch online. We give them the exact same homework assignments that they are doing here at Stanford. We are giving them the exact same exams that we are giving them at Stanford. When I give them an A plus, they would have earned A plus here at Stanford.

MARITHZA MEJIA: At first, I was intimidated and I was worried and hesitant about whether I was going to be successful in the course, since I've never taken a computer science class. And I'm only a tenth grader. It seems really big in my world.

MATTHEW ESCOBEDO: I was originally hesitant and I almost didn't go through with it. Even though the name Stanford was a reason that I did want to take it, it was also another reason that made me very nervous to take it. It made me feel like maybe it was something that I wasn't ready for.

ARI BENNETT: A lot of research has been done indicating that students are underrepresented at these elite universities. And I don't mean underrepresented in terms of proportion of the population, I mean underrepresented in terms of their academic performance. There should be more students from schools like Birmingham that are going to these schools. And Ed Equity is a vehicle. And Stanford's partnership is part of this, to really smash that blockade, if you will, to giving students this opportunity.

PATRICK YOUNG: They haven't decided what they're doing with their life. So this is an opportunity to help them decide, is this something I want to follow up on, is this something I'm excited about, and give them the confidence. Maybe I can do this as a career. Hey, I can go to college. I can be successful. I was able to complete these courses.

MARITHZA MEJIA: And we've proven to our professor, Varun, to Ms. Humphrey that we really can do a college course and we can be successful in it.

MATTHEW ESCOBEDO: Even though the course is challenging, it's possible.

PATRICK YOUNG: This is a five-unit Stanford class. It is absolutely extraordinary that these high school students are able to do their, however many classes they're taking, five, six classes, and still complete this material. Honestly, that's a huge load. I'm very impressed that they are able to complete this.

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LINDSAY HUMPHREY: There are students in this class that were not considering going to college, or they were considering maybe a community college. And now they're applying to Stanford.

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