The Software Engineering Program (SEP) is a multi-year, comprehensive, standards-aligned computer science education program for grades 6 to 12. The goals of the program are:
- Increase the number of high school graduates, particularly from traditionally underrepresented groups, that are ready to pursue new and emerging technology-driven roles across industries.
- Develop student computational thinking and problem-solving skills in real-world contexts.
The SEP curriculum gives students instruction and experience in the following areas: computer programming, robotics, web design, physical computing, and game design. SEP students participate in local and central hackathons, and in work-based experiences with major industry leaders and partners.
Starting in the 2019-20 school year, SEP will undergo a shift that will allow schools to incrementally build the sequence on a timeline that fits their needs. For both middle and high schools, the NYC DOE CS education team will offer training annually (depending on need) on curriculum for each year of the sequence giving schools have access to the full sequence each year. The following curriculum make up the middle and high school SEP sequences:
Middle School
- Creative Computing
- Creative Web OR Introduction to Physical Computing
- Web Games (coming soon)
High School
- Introduction to Computational Media
- Tangible Interfaces OR Physical Computing and the Digital Self (coming soon)
- Computer Science Principles (Advanced Placement optional)
- CS and the City OR Advanced Placement CS A