I went to my first CS4TX Houston Meeting (CSTA Houston chapter). My first encounter with this organization was in 2018 when I went to the CSTA conference in Omaha, Nebraska. There I met the Vice President Henry Ramirez and together we talked about building up something to rival that of Arkansas’ boisterous group.

Life happened, health problems arose in the Houston leaders, and over a year later we are finally getting back on our feet!

My takeaways:

  1. Take a second look at the code.org curriculum. This past year was my first year teaching AP CS Principles and I did it via Mobile CSP curriculum. One of the main reasons I chose this curriculum was because of how expansive it was (online lesson plans for both educators and students) and the negative things I heard about the code.org one from a colleague of mine in my school district. However, I really enjoyed the no-technology lessons we tried in our sessions and thought they were great for introducing topics to students. Additionally, their funding and video production capabilities are second to none. I think this would be a really engaging curriculum to use for my students, and I may make the switch for next year. Yay - time to learn another curriculum!
  2. Making a 4-year pathway in our school district. Earlier this month, our district people emailed asking us to think of a 4-year curriculum pathway for computer science students. They stated one of the reasons they were finally okay with it was because of HB3 and how it consolidated TechApps and CTE courses. No more duplicates. Bellaire shared about how they were creating a pathway. My task for myself: By the end of February, do research on other comparable high schools in Texas as well as leading computer science schools and see what their 4-year pathway is. Then, make a proposal to my district people about the pathway and describe where we are right now and what it will take to get there. Probably need to discuss curriculum shifts/changes and options as well.
  3. Advocate and brag about my students more. Lots of bragging done by other teachers.

All in all excited for the community building and change we will see in the Houston area.