I am talking to some key players in Maine about a certification endorsement to be given by the Maine Department of Education to ‘validate’ a teacher teaching computer science. Does anyone have thoughts on that? For example, should there be one for K-8, and a different one for 7-12? Would teachers/administrators find it valuable? What do you think it should it contain? I’ve found that there are as many different models as there are states that have such endorsements. Does anything similar exist in your state?
I work in Frederick County Maryland. Computer Science courses are not offered at the high school level, which is probably a bad thing. I would support a computer science endorsement certification. Maybe then the schools in my county would realize that they need to update the course offerings in order to prepare students for college and careers.