Komal Thakker, Graduate student at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy Komal Thakker is a graduate student at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy studying development economics and gender analysis. She is interested in international education, especially for girls and women. In addition to her research, she is an outreach assistant at the Tufts Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO). Prior to coming to Tufts/Fletcher, Komal worked at America Needs You (ANY) and New Leaders, two education nonprofits in NYC.

David Benedetto, Director of STEM and Computer Science Education for the NH Department of Education David Benedetto is the Director of STEM and Computer Science (CS) Education for the NH Department of Education. He works to broaden participation in innovative STEM and CS learning at all levels, through partnerships with schools, universities, the business community, and others. He is also a co-founder of the CS4NH Coalition and a national board member for the CS Teachers Association (CSTA). Prior to coming to NHDOE, David established, managed, and taught a successful CS program at Pinkerton Academy in Derry, NH. He has taught mathematics and CS at the secondary and post-secondary levels. David earned his BS (‘06) and MS (‘15) in CS from the University of New Hampshire. He focused on interdisciplinary applications of CS, conducting research in diverse areas including bioinformatics and data visualization. David grew up in NH’s beautiful Lakes Region, and is fortunate to be raising his family there as well.

Jacob Foster, Director, STEM Curriculum and Instruction, WGBH Education Jake Foster is the Director of STEM Curriculum and Instruction at WGBH Education. He supports the development of media-rich digital resources that use video, representations, and models from PBS productions and federal science agencies to enhance K-12 STEM curriculum. Previously, Jake led state STEM initiatives at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. In this role, he oversaw the state’s science, technology/engineering, mathematics, and computer science standards and curriculum frameworks, state-funded professional development opportunities, and support for schools and districts. Jake started his education career teaching high school physical and earth sciences while working with the Coalition of Essential Schools to advance school reform initiatives.

NGSS, Common Core, CSTA, K12CS https://www.nextgenscience.org/ http://www.corestandards.org/ CSTA K–12 COMPUTER SCIENCE STANDARDS https://www.csteachers.org/page/standards https://k12cs.org

https://www.nextgenscience.org/ https://k12cs.org The eight practices of science and engineering that the Framework identifies as essential for all students to learn, and describes in detail, are listed below: Asking questions (for science) and defining problems (for engineering) Developing and using models Planning and carrying out investigations Analyzing and interpreting data Using mathematics and computational thinking Constructing explanations (for science) and designing solutions (for engineering) Engaging in argument from evidence Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information