Not So Secret Code: C-M Students
Flourishing in Computer Science
T
he opportunity to work at one’s
own pace and to be creative is
attracting students to Canon-
McMillan High School’s computer science
education coursework.
Canon-McMillan School District
became the first school district in
Pennsylvania to accept Code to the
Future, a comprehensive computer
science immersion program.
Now, the district is encouraging
students to participate in computer
science under the tutelage of Ms. Rebecca
Gutosky, whose goal is to encourage and
inspire an increasing number of students
— including historically underrepresented
groups (females and minorities) — as
part of district-wide computer science
initiatives.
“Our class focus is java script coding
and learning more about internet data
security,” said Madeline Timko, a senior.
“I was not savvy before this course and
it has taught me a lot and given me
confidence in a typically male-dominated
field.
“I want to pursue architectural
engineering. The background I’m getting
in this class on how to use computers and
data definitely helps a lot.”
In addition to the current courses
available, Ms. Gutosky was recently
notified that she was chosen by Amazon
to bring the Amazon Future Engineer
Program to the high school through AP
Computer Science A (java programming),
the other AP course she teaches at the
school.
She said this program will open up
internship, networking, and scholarship
opportunities from Amazon for Canon-
McMillan students, who pursue careers in
computer science. The program is free of
charge to the district and Ms. Gutosky will
be trained outside of school on her own
time to implement the program.
Citing data from the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, by 2020, there will be 1.4 million
new computer science jobs, a pace that is
twice the national average for job growth.
“Throughout the district, Canon-
McMillan is increasing the number of
46
CANON-MAC
computer science courses and
opportunities, integrating computer
science into all subjects, in all grades,
K-12,” Ms. Gutosky said.
“As the sole computer science teacher
at the high school level, it is my mission
to continue that district-wide trend while
also preparing for increased enrollment in
computer science coursework at the high
school. My objective is to continue to
organize and implement several different
CS courses for students to enroll in to
Maddie Timko and Ethan Beachy.
receive the much-needed exposure to and
opportunities to learn computer science
concepts.
“This will (impact) the nearly 1,600
students in grades 9-12.”
Ethan Beachey, a senior, said he enjoys
the group activity that takes place in the
course.
“It’s a different environment from other
classes,” Beachy said. “This class gives
you the opportunity to figure things out
with a classmate and working with one
another.”
“We do the codes step-by-step and it’s a
fun process. We are given the freedom to
work and to be creative. It’s really cool.”
Funding and support of code.org and
Allegheny IU3, has allowed Ms. Gutosky to
bring AP Computer Science Principles to
Canon-McMillan
High School.
She participates
in professional
development,
which included
a week-long
code.org
training that was
held in Phoenix,
Rebecca Gutosky
AZ in July 2018.
According to
Ms. Gutosky, the implementation of this
new course in this school-year, has been
an “incredible success,” with 43 students
currently enrolled and learning CS
concepts previously not available to them.
“With further recruitment efforts, I
anticipate increased enrollment for the
2019-2020 school year by at least one
more section, broadening access to all
students, not just those who are naturally
inclined toward computer science,” Ms.
Gutosky said.
Additionally, Ms. Gutosky is including a
number of other courses in the program
of studies to help serve this mission. Those
are: Computer Science I (Intro. to C++
programming), Computer Science II (Intro.
to Java programming), AP Computer
Science A (programming in Java),
Microsoft Visual C# programming, and
L-R: Allison Helfer,
Caitlyn Somma and
Briana Thompson.