Education Department begins path to computer science

CHEYENNE – State education officials are forging ahead with efforts to offer computer science to every student in Wyoming.

The Wyoming Department of Education on Monday announced the creation of Boot Up Wyoming 2022, an initiative to facilitate the addition of computer science to K-12 curricula.

Following the state Legislature’s passage of Enrolled Act 48, every Wyoming school district must offer computer science to every student by the 2022-23 school year.

“When it’s all said and done, every single student in Wyoming will have the opportunity to learn computer science throughout their K-12 career,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow said Monday.

Every student will learn basic computer skills and have options for more advanced coursework in secondary schools, she said.

Kari Eakins, communications director for the Department of Education, explained that the Boot Up Wyoming 2022 initiative include three parts: a cost and needs analysis, teacher training and standards development.

The cost and needs analysis is required by Enrolled Act 48. Eakins said department representatives will visit all 48 school districts to find out what the costs and needs are in each district.

“Step one is getting on the same page with school districts about what it will really take to make sure computer science – quality computer science – is available in every school district,” she added.

Eakins said the state Professional Teacher Standards Board already is working on ways to help teachers become certified to teach computer science in Wyoming.

“They’ve been doing a lot of work, recognizing that one of the barriers to teaching computer science was having teachers certified to teach it, especially at the secondary level,” she explained.

Eakins said the Department of Education also is giving higher priority this coming school year to the Wyoming Educational Trust Fund Grant, an opportunity offered to districts that show innovation in their teaching efforts.

Various industry and post-secondary partners also are helping provide some training opportunities. Faculty and administrators at the University of Wyoming are working to advance the effort, as well.

Allyson Anderson, a senior lecturer in the UW Computer Science Department, said representatives from the university are undertaking three primary efforts to advance computer science education in K-12 classrooms.

Anderson also serves on the Department of Education’s computer science task force. Enrolled Act 48 is a result of recommendation from that task force, Eakins said.

Anderson explained that UW currently has a program to allow secondary education students – primarily those studying to teach math and science – to obtain endorsements that will allow them to teach computer science.

“I’d like to start offering this for teachers that are in service in the state right now. We’d need to get some more of these classes online for that,” she said.

Anderson said UW faculty and staff members will meet today to discuss the possibility of creating a new four-year degree in teaching secondary-level computer science. She said the program would need to go through the accreditation process and likely would take at least two years to implement.

Anderson said UW also offers computer science training through summer professional develop courses. Those courses do not result in any manner of certification, however. Anderson said they are intended to help practicing teachers find ways to implement computer science into their curricula.

Eakins said the work to create computer science standards is well underway at the Department of Education. The department currently is forming a Computer Science Standards Review Committee.

That committee will create recommendations and help build the standards. Department staff then can take the proposed standards to the State Board of Education for approval.

The department also is collecting input from residents about what the standards should include.

“We anticipate that schools across the state will be eager to implement this and that we’ll have a lot of early implementers,” Balow said.

She added that following the work of Boot Up Wyoming 2022, the Department of Education will have resources and processes in place to help those who wait the full five years.

“We have an opportunity and a responsibility to make education for all students as relevant as it can be,” Balow said. She added that workface data show that in the future, every career will require computer skills to solve problems.

“Wyoming students will not only be prepared for the basic skills, they will also now have the skills in computer science to create, to innovate and to solve problems,” Balow said.