National Center for Women & IT and Google Award $20,000 to K-12 Computing Teachers

Feb. 10, 2011 - PRLog -- The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), with sponsorship provided by Google, Inc., has selected 20 high-school educators to receive the NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award. The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award recognizes high school educators for supporting young women’s participation in computing and technology. Each Educator Award recipient will receive up to $1000 for professional development related to computing education.

The educators were selected from more than 900 who endorsed applications for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing, which recognizes young women in high school for their computing-related aspirations and achievements. In addition to the professional development funds, the educators also will receive an engraved award and will be recognized this spring at NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing celebrations across the United States and Puerto Rico.

“At Google, we believe that all students should have the opportunity to become active creators of tomorrow's technology.  We know that great teachers are one of the driving forces that inspire young people to engage with technology in meaningful ways,” said Jordan Bookey, Manager for K-12 Education Outreach at Google. “We are proud to recognize the teachers who endorsed this year's Award for Aspirations in Computing students and hope that they continue to encourage their students to pursue these opportunities for years to come.”

National statistics illustrate that girls are less likely than boys to be exposed to computing in middle or high school. Although girls represent 47 percent of Advanced Placement (AP) Calculus test-takers and more than half of AP test-takers overall, only 18 percent of Computer Science AP test-takers are girls. In addition, findings from the Computer Science Teachers Association reveal that the number of computer science teachers is decreasing and that fewer than one in four high schools offers advanced-level computer science courses.

“Young women represent a vast, untapped source of technical talent and innovation for the future U.S. workforce,” said NCWIT CEO Lucy Sanders. “Great educators are one of the most inspiring influences for engaging young women with computing and encouraging them to pursue a technical career.”  

Following are the 2011 NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award Winners:

Rodrigo Anadon, Penn High School, Mishawaka, IN
Stacey Armstrong, Cypress Woods High School , Cypress, TX
Jeff Blackman, Hood River Valley High School, Hood River,  OR
Jerry Esparza, Thomas Jefferson High School, Denver, CO
Baker Franke, The University of Chicago Laboratory High School, Chicago, IL
Ria Galanos, Centennial High School, Roswell,  GA
Denise Gardiner, Pine Creek High School, Colorado Springs, CO
David Herman, New Albany High School, New Albany, OH
Stephanie Hoeppner, Clermont Northeastern High School, Batavia, OH
Melinda Johns, New Albany Senior High School, New Albany, IN
Kathleen Johnson, Springdale High School, Springdale, AR
Terra Kennedy, Phillip O. Berry Academy Of Technology, Charlotte, NC
Robert Martin, School for the Talented and Gifted, Dallas, TX
John Niebergall, Sherwood High School, Sherwood, OR
Carlos Nodarse, Bergen County Academies, Hackensack, NJ
Josh Paley, Gunn High School, Palo Alto, CA
Claribel Perez, Academia Santo Tomas de Aquino, Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Seth Reichelson, Lake Brantley High School, Altamonte Springs, FL
Alex Wiederkehr, Irvin High School, El Paso, TX
Rita Woodfill, Sandra Day O’Connor High School, Helotes, TX

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About the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT)
NCWIT is a non-profit coalition of more than 250 prominent corporations, academic institutions, government agencies, and nonprofits working to increase the participation of girls and women in information technology and computing from K-12 through college education, from the workforce through entrepreneurial careers. We believe that inspiring greater diversity in IT will create a larger and more competitive workforce, and will foster the design of technology that is as broad and innovative as the population it serves. NCWIT conducts research, builds collaboration among members, convenes annual conferences, acts as a national voice for diversity in IT, and publishes practices for recruitment, retention, and advancement of women. Find out more at http://www.ncwit.org.