$250,000 grant boosts NCSSM computer science program

For high school students in rural areas, advanced computer science classes are not always accessible, creating a technological knowledge gap.

The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) aims to bridge that gap.

NCSSM recently announced its new endowed professorship fund, made possible by a $250,000 grant from hybrid multicloud software company Nutanix.

The one-time $250,000 endowment expands NCSSM’s reach to students across North Carolina through its online instructional program, NCSSM Connect. NCSSM Chancellor Todd Roberts said the state is expected to match the grant with an additional $250,000 in December.

Charles Robinson is NCSSM’s Nutanix Endowed Professor of Computer Science.

Robinson has been an instructor for NCSSM since 2019. He originally taught in NCSSM’s residential program but is now exclusively teaching virtual classes through NCSSM Connect.

“In this role, (Robinson) delivers honors curriculum including Honors Computer Science and Computational Thinking, Honors Creative Design for the Web, and Honors Connected Computing: Solving Problems with Technology,” according to NCSSM.

Starting in fall 2026, Robinson will teach six NCSSM Connect courses.

Roberts said students from multiple schools can participate in each class. For example, a class of 20 students could come from 10 different high schools.

“It really allows students, predominantly in more rural parts of the state, to get access to these types of courses, and there’s no cost to the school,” Roberts said. “They have it as part of their course catalog that students can sign up for.”

NCSSM Connect courses are taught as synchronous classes, Roberts said, meaning they are taught real-time in live class sessions.

“Pretty much every public school in North Carolina would have the opportunity to partner with us to do this,” Roberts said.

The endowment process is expected to be fully complete in the next three years. Two immediate steps include exploring opportunities to pilot computer science teacher training initiatives and expanding on NCSSM’s existing technical ecosystem, including the Ryden Program for Innovation and Leadership in AI.

“We’re grateful for (Nutanix’s) desire to help provide opportunities to students across our state, and computer science that might not otherwise have been (available to them),” Roberts said.