A statewide panel for computer science education started meeting this month in an effort to expand and improve computer science education in grades K through 12. Of the 23 people appointed to the Computer Science Strategic Implementation Plan Panel (CSSIPP), one member is from the San Diego Unified School District.
“I’ve done a lot of work in STEM education and in computer science so it was a really great thing to get appointed to the panel,” secondary resource teacher Shirley Miranda told NBC 7 over the phone.
She has been a high school math and computer science teacher for 14 years, and just moved to the district office as a resource teacher.
“Computer science is everywhere,” she said. “Everybody in any walk of life interacts with computer science, from your cell phones to the television to the DVR, so it is a necessary thing just as much as reading and mathematics in our society today.”
Miranda and her software engineer husband have a four-year-old daughter who is learning the basics from them.
“I think she just, in general, has a better understanding of how things work, and when we explain stuff if she asks a question we go into detail of how it works and about coding. And she’s excited about it, so to get that excitement going at a young age I think is important."
The panel will submit recommendations for a computer science strategic implementation plan to the Superintendent, the State Board, and the Legislature. The plan will include, but not be limited to, recommendations to broaden the pool of teachers to teach computer science and to ensure that all pupils have access to quality computer science courses.
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“I’m hoping that by being part of this panel I can help get those roots out further than my classroom and the students that I work with,” Miranda added. “Hopefully now we can spread it statewide so that all students get that quality computer science education and introduction to it at the very least so that they know how to be prepared for the world that awaits them.”
Teacher Yun “Jenny” Tzu Chien from the Vista Unified School District and David Miyashiro, superintendent of Cajon Valley Unified School District were also appointed to the panel.
