Computer Science and Cyber Security Class Spotlight
Inside Chandra Webb’s classroom at KIPP Nashville Collegiate High School, students are developing a newfound curiosity for the technology inside the computers on their desks.
Ke’Niya, a senior, says, “This class gives me new appreciation for the internet and how computers work.”
Students at Collegiate have multiple options when it comes to high-tech learning, including Foundations of Computer Science, AP Computer Science, and Cybersecurity, all taught by Ms. Webb.
Ms Webb, who is in her third year teaching at KIPP and 23rd year as an educator, says, “These courses are giving students Computer Science skills that will help them in the real world.”
For Josue, also a senior, the classes are an opportunity to dive deeper into topics that he’s already interested in, and where technology will continue to be an important component.
“I’m interested in engineering, and technology and engineering are growing together more and more,” says Josue. “There’s screens everywhere these days, and I feel like there are just going to be more opportunities to integrate tech and engineering.”
Josue is President and Founder of the Computer Science Honors Society Club, which Ms. Webb has helped support.
At the start of the school year, Ms. Webb secured $5,000 in funding from the Battelle Education TSIN/STEMx STEM Classroom Grants, sponsored by TVA and BVI. Collegiate was chosen as a recipient of the grant from more than 650 applicants. The funding has been used toward the Cyber Security class and the club, where Josue says they’re working on robotics.
“It creates an environment for students to do technology,” explains Josue. “We wanted to make space for students to learn engineering and Ms. Webb does a great job of getting our feet in the door. Through that club, we’ve had guest speakers and we competed in a coding tournament at Vanderbilt. Now we have an environment for that at Collegiate.”
Ms. Webb says more and more students have joined the Computer Science Honors Society, because they’re interested in working in that field and learning more about what opportunities are out there.
And Collegiate students truly are some of the first students to gain access to some of this curriculum.
Ms. Webb is teaching the Cyber Security class as a pilot course through the College Board Kickstart program. Only 130 educators from around the country were invited to teach the course.
Not only does the Cyber Security class teach students foundational skills, they learn about computer components, various online threats, transmission of data, types of networks and participate in hands-on learning labs. Students even got the chance to make their own ethernet cables.
“Ms. Webb is an amazing teacher,” says Tomontae, a senior interested in mechanical and civil engineering. “I like how she doesn’t just give us the answers. She forces us to go look for the answers and seek help from peers.”
Students will leave her class with newfound knowledge and the opportunity to earn a beginning level certification for Networking Fundamentals, a certification applicable to jobs in the real world, which sets Collegiate students apart.
As Ms. Webb moves around the room challenging her class to think critically and rely on each other to problem-solve, it’s easy to see how passionate she is about these subjects and the potential career opportunities that exist for KIPP students. During the first semester of the year, Ms. Webb took 20 eleventh and twelfth grade young women to a Women in Technology STEAM event at Nissan.
“IT and Cybersecurity jobs are high paying fields with little diversity,” says Ms. Webb. “Exposing students to these courses and careers will help them make decisions that will benefit their families and themselves as they entire the workforce.”
