“The field of computer science has not been equally accessible to culturally and linguistically diverse students," says Mark Warschauer, who will use the $4 million grant to address the issue, first with Hispanic fourth-graders. Michelle S. Kim / UCI

Mark Warschauer, professor of education, has been awarded a five-year, $4 million Education Innovation and Research grant by the U.S. Department of Education to improve computer science teaching practices for English learners. Project partners are the Santa Ana and San Francisco unified school districts and Chicago Public Schools. “The field of computer science has not been equally accessible to culturally and linguistically diverse students in public schools,” Warschauer said. “This is one of the first programs in the country that’s developing curricula appropriate for fourth-grade Hispanic students. We expect that our work will eventually lead to expansion to the fifth grade and beyond, with national impact.”