Computer Science Education Week runs December 7–13, 2026, and it’s built around one birthday. Grace Hopper, a Navy officer and computing pioneer, was born on December 9.
The Week of December 9
Each December, during the week containing the 9th. In 2025, it ran December 8 to 14.
Events can start a little early. The 2026 program opens with a free online summit kickoff on Saturday, December 5.
Congress set it up through a 2009 House resolution. Today the Computer Science Teachers Association leads it, with sponsors such as ACM and the Infosys Foundation USA.
A Resolution Named for Hopper
Representatives Vernon Ehlers and Jared Polis introduced House Resolution 558 on June 18, 2009. It named “the week of December 7” after Hopper.
House members passed it 405 to 0 that October. The text praised Hopper as one of the first women in computer science.
Lawmakers also flagged a gap. The House text called for drawing more women and underrepresented minorities into the field. It also sought “sustainable learning experiences in computer science at all educational levels.”
Hopper’s career explains the honor. She earned a Yale doctorate in 1934, joined the Naval Reserve in 1943 and worked on Harvard’s Mark I computer.
She later helped build UNIVAC I and pushed COBOL into wide use. After retiring as a commander in 1966, she was recalled to duty the next year.
Her final retirement came in 1986, as a rear admiral. She died on January 1, 1992, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.
In 2013, the celebration began on Monday, December 9, Hopper’s birthday itself.
An Hour of Code campaign made the week famous. By December 13, 2013, more than 13 million people had tried it, a CSTA blog reported.
Why It Still Matters
Organizers call the week a yearly call to action. It’s meant to inspire K-12 students, push for equity and celebrate the people who built the field.
Access is uneven. Fewer than half of all schools teach computer science, the Hour of Code site says.
High schools are closer. In 2023, Code.org counted 57.5% of public high schools offering a basic CS class, up from 53% a year earlier.
Yet only 5.8% of high school students took one. Girls made up 31% of that enrollment.
Gaps ran deep. More than 10,000 high schools offered no computer science course at all that year.
That’s why the 2026 theme is an “open house.” Organizers want CS teachers to bring a colleague who doesn’t teach it, under the motto “CS belongs in every classroom, whatever you teach.”
CS Heroes is another tradition. Each year the program honors people whose work moved the field forward, from classroom teachers to Hopper herself.
Artificial intelligence is the newer focus. The Hour of Code is evolving into an Hour of AI, building on more than a decade of the original.
Ways to Take Part
- Try a one-hour coding or AI activity with your class, your kids or on your own.
- Join the free CSEdWeek summit kickoff on December 5, which needs no CS experience.
- Catch the “AI in Your Classroom” session on December 9, Hopper’s birthday.
- Ask your local high school whether it offers a foundational computer science course.
- Nominate a teacher or mentor as a CS Hero.
- Tell students the story of Hopper and the Mark I.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Computer Science Education Week an official observance?
Yes. A House resolution designated it, though it isn’t a federal holiday.
How many students have done an Hour of Code?
About 100 million, by the program’s count.
Who sponsors CSEdWeek?
Dalio Philanthropies is among the backers, alongside the teachers’ association that runs it.
Sources
- Congress.gov – H. Res. 558 (2009), National Computer Science Education Week
- Computing Research Association – National CS Education Week (2009)
- CSTA Advocate – Remembering Amazing Grace (2013)
- CSEdWeek – Computer Science Education Week
- Idaho STEM Action Center – CSEdWeek 2025
- Hour of Code – Stats
- GovTech – Over 10,000 high schools don’t teach computer science (2023)
- Britannica – Grace Hopper