2022 WeTeach_CS Summit: Networking, Education, Resources, Awards Abound

The 2022 WeTeach_CS Summit educated, empowered, and inspired K-12 computer science teachers, advocates, administrators, professional development providers, university instructors, and policy makers to advance the goal of "CS for All" in Texas and beyond.

This year's summit — held in June in Georgetown, Texas — achieved this goal in spades. The two-day event welcomed more than 200 attendees representing schools and districts across Texas, nonprofit firms, and Fortune 500 companies. This was the WeTeach_CS team's first large in-person gathering since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our WeTeach_CS team was thrilled to engage with so many amazing educators at our first in-person WeTeach_CS Summit since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Carol Fletcher, director of Expanding Pathways in Computing (EPIC) at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin.

"This year's summit included an expanded focus on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, to make sure our attendees are kept abreast of these cutting-edge fields in computing and technology. We can't bring these experiences to students if our teachers don't have opportunities to learn about them," she said.

WeTeach_CS is the professional development component of the EPIC program at TACC. EPIC's mission is to broaden participation in K20 computing pathways through research, outreach, professional development, and policy advocacy. To achieve this mission, EPIC partners with school districts, institutions of higher education, industry leaders, and federal, state, and local government entities who are also dedicated to expanding access and opportunity for historically underserved students in computing.

For Amy Carrell, EPIC's director of outreach, creating networking opportunities for CS teachers across Texas gives her a sense of accomplishment and personal satisfaction.

"Many CS teachers are the only CS teachers on their campus. The WeTeach_CS Summit provides dedicated time for networking to build community and contacts for educators such as the exhibitor fair and reception, affinity groups, and collaborative meetups," Carrell said.

"We also guide participants to external resources such as joining their local Computer Science Teacher Association or connecting with the National Center for Women in Technology's Counselors 4 Computing program. It's extraordinarily rewarding to enrich a CS teacher's experience by connecting them to individuals on a similar journey and sharing information to improve the pedagogy and content of their classrooms," she said.

Meet the Award Winners

At the summit, WeTeach_CS leadership gave Change Maker and Mini-Grant awards to nine outstanding teachers for their contributions to improving CS education in Texas. Established in 2016, these annual awards are given to dedicated CS teachers who brought new ideas to teaching and learning to the classroom.

Mini-Grant Award winner Sara McShane of Round Rock ISD, who attended the summit, plans to use the grant funds to purchase Edison Robots for her classroom.

"My librarian and I will include Edison Robots with our Girls Coding Club and our campus wide Hour of Code to aid computational thinking in an engaging, hands-on way," McShane said. Edison is a programmable robot designed for coding and robotics education for students ages four and up.

"We're proud to recognize these great teachers who are going above and beyond to engage new students in computer science," Fletcher said.

Importance of Cybersecurity Education

In a post-summit survey, 50% of respondents indicated an interest in learning more about cybersecurity, and several attendees said that cybersecurity was the main reason for attending the summit.

EPIC Cybersecurity Education Specialist Nikki Hendricks, who launched the inaugural WeTeach_Cyber Collaborative after the summit, believes cybersecurity education must be improved in most CS classrooms.

"Many CS teachers are the only CS teachers on their campus. The WeTeach_CS Summit provides dedicated time for networking to build community and contacts for educators such as the exhibitor fair and reception, affinity groups, and collaborative meetups."

"When I joined EPIC two years ago, I would have a handful of people at my cybersecurity presentations. At the 2022 WeTeach_CS Summit, the cybersecurity workshops were standing-room-only," Hendricks said. "Cybersecurity is an up-and-coming industry with opportunities for students heading to college and those who want to go straight into the workforce after high school."

For more cybersecurity information or helping creating a program at your school, contact Nikki Hendricks and sign up for the EPIC Cybersecurity newsletter.

The Computing Educator Diversity Initiative (CEDI)

The Computing Educator Diversity Initiative (CEDI) consists of in-service educators who are historically underrepresented in CS working together as they deepen their CS content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and equitable strategies — and receive support to obtain their CS teacher certification.

Blanca Gonzales of the Microsoft TEALS Program, one of several teachers from previous cohorts who attended the summit, expressed her appreciation for not only CEDI, but the opportunity to finally meet her virtual cohort in person.

"Having face-to-face conversations with teachers from my cohort allowed me to see that the people I met online are as passionate about CS education as I believed them to be," Gonzales said. "We were so happy to see each other in person that we had a group hug."

The CEDI program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF #1837602) and Microsoft Corporation. Read more about these teachers and their diversity, equity, and inclusion in CS goals in the CEDI Special Report .

Accelerating Women's Success and Mastery

Also at the summit, 86 Texas schools were recognized as members of the inaugural Accelerating Women's Success and Mastery (AWSM) in Computer Science Honor Roll. These schools were recognized because young women made up at least 50% of CS course enrollment in the 2020-2021 school year — the statewide average is just 27%.

"IDEA Riverview College Preparatory is honored to be recognized by The University of Texas at Austin as a member of the inaugural AWSM in CS Honor Roll," said Principal Adriana Ramos. "Providing equitable education to all students is our priority, and receiving this recognition affirms our commitment and motivates us to continue expanding the horizons for our students. As a T-STEM Academy, we offer CS classes to 100% of the young women enrolled in our school."

Limited exposure to CS for young women in high school contributes to underrepresentation in the workforce. In the United States, just 27% of all computing jobs are held by women. In Texas, there are almost 65,000 open computing jobs available with an average salary of $94,779.

"We're proud to recognize these schools as inaugural members of the AWSM in CS Honor Roll," Fletcher said. "We thank them for their ‘awesome' leadership and for bringing CS opportunities to young women in their communities."

AWSM in CS is a National Science Foundation-funded project focused on increasing access and participation of young women in computing courses.

"One of the primary goals of the WeTeach_CS Summit is to nurture a community of practice among CS educators, who often operate in isolation on their own campuses. Based on teacher feedback, we think the summit was successful in that area and complemented the virtual professional development we've been doing for the past two years," Fletcher said. "We look forward to bringing even more K-12 teachers together with those who support them at next year's summit to grow and sustain these relationships, which are vital to educator success and retention."