Date: April 10, 2007 2:57PM
From: jwhitehurst
To: Patsy Hester
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Wow!
What a coincidence. I'm compiling all correspondance between DPI, WCPSS, and the like that I've gotten since 2004. To date this is the word from DPI:
"We're working on it"
As it has been since the year 1997 that I left this state to certify in Wisconsin.
I'll let all know about permanent dents made when they happen.
I'm setting up a blog now. The information should be posted on home.nc.rr.com/~jwhitehurst9 within a couple of days. Jane S. Whitehurst
10 April 2007
Article for CSTA VOICE
Article for CSTA VOICE
April 10, 2007
It was Spring 1997. I was a senior at Clemson University majoring in computer science with a minor in education; I just discovered that my education minor was not going to be enough to teach in the public school system in South Carolina, North Carolina, or Virginia, all states bordering my hometown. I had six months to figure out how to pursue the love of my life, teaching. After extensive research, schools in Vermont, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Washington all said, “Come on. We’ll certify you to be a computer science teacher. Better yet, we’ll get you a masters degree in computer science education.” I got an interview at the highly recommended Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, so for Spring Break, I packed my bags and headed north (what a crazy idea for a Southerner). The interview went fine. It was a leap of faith, and Wisconsin was where I ended up, 800 miles away from home.
In Spring 2000, I had finished my Masters degree and Secondary Education certification; I was a full time high school teacher - Advanced Placement computer science (also the youngest AP exam reader to date) and algebra. I was ready to move back home and teach my love to the people I loved, and I was marrying my sweetheart from Clemson. I was finally going back home to North Carolina, but the school system there said, “We don’t have a certification for computer science. Do you have a degree in something else? Business? Math?” I thought that surely they would have seen the light after two years. I was afraid I was never going to get to come home. And neither Virginia nor South Carolina had adopted a computer science certification either. Chris, my fiancé, was finishing his Masters at UW Milwaukee and we waited another year while I got another year of teaching under my belt and besides, my AP students were doing really well.
Summer of 2001 was it! My new husband had finally been accepted into a PhD program at NC State University, and we were actually moving home. North Carolina had no standards for putting computer science into a specific department. Some schools have CS in the math department; some have it in the business department; some specialized schools have a technology department. Not only was I concerned about where and what to teach but also what license did I need to do it. Broughton High School in Raleigh, where all computer science courses were in the math department, gave me a chance. “No Child Left Behind” didn’t exist yet, so the school system had the Department of Instruction contrive a math license for me by taking all computer classes on my transcript and giving them math status.
Spring of 2003. The International Baccalaureate School thrived at Broughton and thus the attendance for computer science courses declined. I needed to move to a more technical school. I chose Apex High. However, Computer Science courses at Apex were in the Business department. I did not have a Business license, so I was granted a one-year provisional license under the assumption that certainly DPI would see the dilemma of my situation and rectify it for the district and me. After all, Apex was in the same school district as Broughton, and the courses I was teaching in the math department were the exact same as theirs in the Business department.
One year later, Spring of 2004. After countless meetings with the Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina Senators on educational committees, North Carolina School Board, Wake County Public School System, and Apex High, nothing had changed. I was still a computer science teacher with a math license and no way to switch to a Business license without more course work and an exam, all for which I would have to pay.
My provisional Business license expired at the end of the year, and I was replaced. I had an undergraduate degree in computer science with an education minor, a graduate degree in computer science education, a Wisconsin license to teach computer science, 3 years experience teaching high school AP computer science in Wisconsin, 2 years college experience teaching computers, 4 years of computer science teaching in North Carolina, and I was a paid Pacing guide/curriculum designer for computer science in Wake County of NC. With all those qualifications, I am not certified to teach computer science in North Carolina.
Now the Spring of 2007. With two kids now and one on the way, I still teach at Apex High School in Wake County in North Carolina. I teach math (prealgebra, algebra 1 part 1, and tech math 1) and stand by while a business-licensed teacher with no java or c++ experience teaches the computer science courses. DPI has been informed; the School Board has been informed, and yet nothing except, “We're working on it.” seems to be communicated from any of them.
I’m calling for help and communication from sister states, Georgia and Virginia, who have now since 2000 adopted a license in computer science. Students growing up in this technologically advanced society deserve to have the most qualified teachers. Qualification needs to be the forefront of the decision making process for teacher licensing, not checkboxes on applications that don’t fit the new age.
April 10, 2007
It was Spring 1997. I was a senior at Clemson University majoring in computer science with a minor in education; I just discovered that my education minor was not going to be enough to teach in the public school system in South Carolina, North Carolina, or Virginia, all states bordering my hometown. I had six months to figure out how to pursue the love of my life, teaching. After extensive research, schools in Vermont, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Washington all said, “Come on. We’ll certify you to be a computer science teacher. Better yet, we’ll get you a masters degree in computer science education.” I got an interview at the highly recommended Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, so for Spring Break, I packed my bags and headed north (what a crazy idea for a Southerner). The interview went fine. It was a leap of faith, and Wisconsin was where I ended up, 800 miles away from home.
In Spring 2000, I had finished my Masters degree and Secondary Education certification; I was a full time high school teacher - Advanced Placement computer science (also the youngest AP exam reader to date) and algebra. I was ready to move back home and teach my love to the people I loved, and I was marrying my sweetheart from Clemson. I was finally going back home to North Carolina, but the school system there said, “We don’t have a certification for computer science. Do you have a degree in something else? Business? Math?” I thought that surely they would have seen the light after two years. I was afraid I was never going to get to come home. And neither Virginia nor South Carolina had adopted a computer science certification either. Chris, my fiancé, was finishing his Masters at UW Milwaukee and we waited another year while I got another year of teaching under my belt and besides, my AP students were doing really well.
Summer of 2001 was it! My new husband had finally been accepted into a PhD program at NC State University, and we were actually moving home. North Carolina had no standards for putting computer science into a specific department. Some schools have CS in the math department; some have it in the business department; some specialized schools have a technology department. Not only was I concerned about where and what to teach but also what license did I need to do it. Broughton High School in Raleigh, where all computer science courses were in the math department, gave me a chance. “No Child Left Behind” didn’t exist yet, so the school system had the Department of Instruction contrive a math license for me by taking all computer classes on my transcript and giving them math status.
Spring of 2003. The International Baccalaureate School thrived at Broughton and thus the attendance for computer science courses declined. I needed to move to a more technical school. I chose Apex High. However, Computer Science courses at Apex were in the Business department. I did not have a Business license, so I was granted a one-year provisional license under the assumption that certainly DPI would see the dilemma of my situation and rectify it for the district and me. After all, Apex was in the same school district as Broughton, and the courses I was teaching in the math department were the exact same as theirs in the Business department.
One year later, Spring of 2004. After countless meetings with the Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina Senators on educational committees, North Carolina School Board, Wake County Public School System, and Apex High, nothing had changed. I was still a computer science teacher with a math license and no way to switch to a Business license without more course work and an exam, all for which I would have to pay.
My provisional Business license expired at the end of the year, and I was replaced. I had an undergraduate degree in computer science with an education minor, a graduate degree in computer science education, a Wisconsin license to teach computer science, 3 years experience teaching high school AP computer science in Wisconsin, 2 years college experience teaching computers, 4 years of computer science teaching in North Carolina, and I was a paid Pacing guide/curriculum designer for computer science in Wake County of NC. With all those qualifications, I am not certified to teach computer science in North Carolina.
Now the Spring of 2007. With two kids now and one on the way, I still teach at Apex High School in Wake County in North Carolina. I teach math (prealgebra, algebra 1 part 1, and tech math 1) and stand by while a business-licensed teacher with no java or c++ experience teaches the computer science courses. DPI has been informed; the School Board has been informed, and yet nothing except, “We're working on it.” seems to be communicated from any of them.
I’m calling for help and communication from sister states, Georgia and Virginia, who have now since 2000 adopted a license in computer science. Students growing up in this technologically advanced society deserve to have the most qualified teachers. Qualification needs to be the forefront of the decision making process for teacher licensing, not checkboxes on applications that don’t fit the new age.
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Date: April 10, 2007 1:22PM
From: Patsy Hester
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Hi Jane,
I understand that you have been inquiring concerning licensure for teaching computer science. Can you provide additional information and let me know what you have discovered? Thanks, Patsy
From: Patsy Hester
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Hi Jane,
I understand that you have been inquiring concerning licensure for teaching computer science. Can you provide additional information and let me know what you have discovered? Thanks, Patsy
30 March 2007
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Date: March 30, 2007 4:32PM
From: Carol Parker
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Jane,
Forwarding you DPI's response as information. I have also referred to Donna Hargens, WCPSS Chief Academic Officer, to ask for her assistance. Carol Parker
From: Carol Parker
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Jane,
Forwarding you DPI's response as information. I have also referred to Donna Hargens, WCPSS Chief Academic Officer, to ask for her assistance. Carol Parker
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Date: March 30, 2007 4:10PM
From: Carol Parker
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Did you get support for any further action?
Carol Parker
From: Carol Parker
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Did you get support for any further action?
Carol Parker
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Date: March 30, 2007 3:00 PM
From: JWhitehurst
To: Carol Parker
Re: ASAP Computer Science
thank you.
i just attended the regional meeting last night in Wilson regarding the core 21.
i spoke up for computer science and teacher discrepancy.
Jane S. Whitehurst
From: JWhitehurst
To: Carol Parker
Re: ASAP Computer Science
thank you.
i just attended the regional meeting last night in Wilson regarding the core 21.
i spoke up for computer science and teacher discrepancy.
Jane S. Whitehurst
Re: Fw: ASAP Computer Science Information
To: Carol Parker/Superintendent/WCPSS@Staff
From: "Kathy Sullivan" KSULLIVA@dpi.state.nc.us
Date: 03/30/2007 12:03PM
Subject: Re: Fw: ASAP Computer Science Information
Carol, We are working as hard and as fast as we can and will have a stand alone license in computer science available just as quickly as we can. As you might imagine, we have been focusing on ensuring compliance with NCLB teacher quality requirements, particularly as they relate to special education teachers, so that we are not sanctioned by the USDOE.
From: "Kathy Sullivan" KSULLIVA@dpi.state.nc.us
Date: 03/30/2007 12:03PM
Subject: Re: Fw: ASAP Computer Science Information
Carol, We are working as hard and as fast as we can and will have a stand alone license in computer science available just as quickly as we can. As you might imagine, we have been focusing on ensuring compliance with NCLB teacher quality requirements, particularly as they relate to special education teachers, so that we are not sanctioned by the USDOE.
Re: ASAP Computer Science
Date: March 30, 2007 11:08AM
From: Carol Parker
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
right, I didn't scroll down far enough...I've emailed her to ask for a status and response to the concerns.
Carol Parker
From: Carol Parker
To: jwhitehurst
Re: ASAP Computer Science
right, I didn't scroll down far enough...I've emailed her to ask for a status and response to the concerns.
Carol Parker
frustrated Wake County teacher
>>> Carol Parker coparker@wcpss.net> 3/30/2007 11:07 AM >>
Kathy,
I'm forwarding you an email and attachment from a very frustrated Wake County teacher about the computer science certification. Could you provide me with an update on this issue and a response to her issues outlined on the attachment.
Carol Parker
Kathy,
I'm forwarding you an email and attachment from a very frustrated Wake County teacher about the computer science certification. Could you provide me with an update on this issue and a response to her issues outlined on the attachment.
Carol Parker
29 March 2007
COMPUTER SCIENCE in the CORE ??
Date: March 29, 2007
2 minute hearing for the 21-core requirements for High School Graduation
COMPUTER SCIENCE in the CORE ??
Advanced Placement Computer Science courses are currently accepted in North Carolina as a core math credit except in Wake County, where it falls often under Career & Technical Education (CTE) with the other programming courses.
Right now, Computer Science is not mentioned in the core, but here are some viable options:
1. AP CS as a math credit, the rest as CTE endorsements?
2. AP CS as an AP endorsement and the rest as CTE endorsements?
3. AP CS and the rest as CTE endorsements?
There’s a problem with all of these because:
· There is no specific certification for CS teachers in NC.
· The current teachers are either Math, CTE, or both.·
If any of the above solutions are met, then teachers will either be forced to teach something else, quit, or have to get a new license.
SO, Our (Computer Science Teachers of America – CSTA) questions respond to the news press on ncpublicschools.org.
The new core includes:
· 4 units of English
· 4 units of mathematics
· 3 units of science
· 3 units of social studies
· 2 units of a second language
· 1 unit of health/physical education
· an endorsement of at least four units in one of the following areas: Career-Technical, Arts education, Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC), Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate, second language or other.
Does other include computer science? Or is it included in the math requirements?
Other state graduation requirements will continue to be in place. These include:
· Passing the end-of-course tests (in Algebra I, English I, US History, Civics and Economics, and Biology)
· Completing a graduation project .
Local boards of education continue to have the authority to add to the state requirements. The new core will not affect students with disabilities who qualify for the occupational course of study. Most students already take the core classes, but this core raises the standard by requiring
· four mathematics courses
· a second language study for all
· a selected area of emphasis for their high school work with an eye to college work, career or both.
Can one of those four mathematics courses be computer science?
The core framework of courses will not be one-size-fits-all. Students will select specific courses within the 21 requirements and there will be opportunities for course substitutions in some cases where this is appropriate.
Can computer science be a substitution since it doesn’t fall anywhere else?
2 minute hearing for the 21-core requirements for High School Graduation
COMPUTER SCIENCE in the CORE ??
Advanced Placement Computer Science courses are currently accepted in North Carolina as a core math credit except in Wake County, where it falls often under Career & Technical Education (CTE) with the other programming courses.
Right now, Computer Science is not mentioned in the core, but here are some viable options:
1. AP CS as a math credit, the rest as CTE endorsements?
2. AP CS as an AP endorsement and the rest as CTE endorsements?
3. AP CS and the rest as CTE endorsements?
There’s a problem with all of these because:
· There is no specific certification for CS teachers in NC.
· The current teachers are either Math, CTE, or both.·
If any of the above solutions are met, then teachers will either be forced to teach something else, quit, or have to get a new license.
SO, Our (Computer Science Teachers of America – CSTA) questions respond to the news press on ncpublicschools.org.
The new core includes:
· 4 units of English
· 4 units of mathematics
· 3 units of science
· 3 units of social studies
· 2 units of a second language
· 1 unit of health/physical education
· an endorsement of at least four units in one of the following areas: Career-Technical, Arts education, Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC), Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate, second language or other.
Does other include computer science? Or is it included in the math requirements?
Other state graduation requirements will continue to be in place. These include:
· Passing the end-of-course tests (in Algebra I, English I, US History, Civics and Economics, and Biology)
· Completing a graduation project .
Local boards of education continue to have the authority to add to the state requirements. The new core will not affect students with disabilities who qualify for the occupational course of study. Most students already take the core classes, but this core raises the standard by requiring
· four mathematics courses
· a second language study for all
· a selected area of emphasis for their high school work with an eye to college work, career or both.
Can one of those four mathematics courses be computer science?
The core framework of courses will not be one-size-fits-all. Students will select specific courses within the 21 requirements and there will be opportunities for course substitutions in some cases where this is appropriate.
Can computer science be a substitution since it doesn’t fall anywhere else?
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