As a computer application teacher at Sweetwater Union High School in National City, Art Lopez said his job is to prepare his students for the future.
So about five years ago when one of his students asked why Sweetwater did not have a computer science course when schools in wealthier areas like La Jolla and Torrey Pines do, Lopez immediately knew he had to close the digital divide.
He, along with a colleague, enrolled in a pilot program that taught teachers how to teach computer science courses in San Diego County.
Soon after Lopez brought the first computer science class to Sweetwater High School.
“I feel very strongly that computing and computational thinking have to be a part of our children’s public education,” he said. “We live in a digital economy and to not have our children prepared to face their future endeavors and academic pursuits without having computer science as part of their education means we are not serving them well.”
For his innovations and achievements with implementing computer science classes at both the high school and the district, the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy invited him to be part of a working group for the Computer Science For All Educational Initiative, an initiative set forth by President Barack Obama to empower every student from kindergarten to high school to learn computer science.
Lopez gladly accepted the volunteer position as he is only one of two teachers across the nation to be selected for the group, which include CEOs, industry leaders, education leaders and officials with the U.S. Department of Education.
Lopez traveled last month to the White House to meet with Obama’s top advisors and officially meet with other people in the group.
He said the goal of the working group is to not only institute computer science programs in schools across America but to bridge the digital divide between wealthier and poorer schools across the country.
Aside from teaching, Lopez recently was named the Curriculum Specialist for Computer Science at Sweetwater district where he is tasked with creating curriculum and helping schools in the district implement computer science classes.
