By Laserica Thornton, EdSource
Over the past year, at the Stanislaus County education office in Modesto, about a dozen parents have met monthly for two-hour sessions to learn computer skills.
The parents are part of the migrant community in the Central San Joaquin Valley. Not all have had a traditional K-12 education or college experience with access to digital tools. For example, they have smartphones, which they used mostly for texting, calls and WhatsApp. And until recently, some lacked basic computer skills.
At the sessions, the parents first learned the basics of technology, such as email communication and how to use computer apps, such as Google. Later, sessions shifted to what their children are — or are not — learning in school about computer science and technology.
Rudy Escobar, a longtime advocate for bringing computer science education to socioeconomically disadvantaged communities in the Central Valley, runs the sessions. He works as the coordinator of computer science and STEM, or science, technology, engineering and math, at the Stanislaus County Office of Education. There, he provides professional development to educators and engages families in the courses. He also trains parents in advocacy as a leader for Computer Science for California, or CSforCA, a nonprofit that promotes increased access to computer science at the local, regional and state levels.
The goal of the parent sessions, Escobar said, is to help close the digital divide and empower families to advocate for computer science classes in their schools and communities.
“We are trying to move the needle in any possible way that we can,” said Escobar. “We want to empower them to understand what it is and how they can motivate their kids to go into those fields, and then to also advocate in their schools.”
The parent sessions are part of a decadelong push in California to expand access to computer science education, especially in rural areas and low-income communities where students are less likely to take such courses. Advocates, such as Escobar, say that involving parents is key to expanding computer science education.
Photo caption:
Stanislaus County parents and computer science advocates participated in a two-day event that focused on the role families can play in the effort to increase access to and participation in computer science. Parents received certificates on April 13, 2026, at the UCLA Luskin Conference Center in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy of Rudy Escobar
