Less than a year ago Lancaster ISD Belt Line Elementary computer science teacher Chanel White organized an after school club for students interested in computer science. Little did she know the club would grow so large that she would be asking her principal Mrs. Wendy Hawthorne if there could be a computer science class offered to elementary students.
“I am very passionate about teaching computer science,” White said. “I am passionate about helping students understand that computer science isn’t something inside a box. It is something they use every day from how they brush their teeth to how they get up in the morning.”
Since Mrs. White began teaching computer science this year, more students have become involved. Her hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed as she was nominated by Lancaster ISD’s Director of Blended Learning for the Computer Science Teachers Association and Code.org 2018 Champion for Computer Science award. Mrs. White was recognized as one of the eight winners at the national convention recently.
“Mrs. White has created a culture of innovation at her elementary school, “ Clark said. “She is the definition of innovation.”
White said she wanted to start a computer science class to give students who may not otherwise get exposure to this type of experience in elementary.
“I wanted to give students the opportunity to work with real world scenarios in the classroom,” White said. “I wanted to teach students how to think creatively in order to solve problems. This is what we do every day in my classroom.”
Mrs. Clark said White had her after school group up to nearly 50 students before convincing her principal she needed a computer science class.
“When this group spiraled into something magical, Mrs. White was ready to move this into the classroom,” Clark said. “She has since created a culture of innovation at her elementary campus.”
It is not unusual for one to see in Mrs. White’s class students moving around working together to communicate their ideas to their peers. She said this will help the students in their future.
“The skills these students are learning in my class are real world,” White said. “Their ability to think critically and be natural problem solvers is what companies will be looking for when they leave Lancaster ISD.”
White said she enjoys the flexibility she has in her classroom. Unlike a traditional classroom here students are never doing the same thing on any given day.
“I tell them all the furniture in my lab is moveable and they can create their own learning space with their peers to solve problems,” White said. “I do not give them any answers instead I give them tools to research the problems and solve problems together.”
White said she is happy she was recognized for this award. However she said she teaches because she enjoys seeing students learn.
“When you see the smiles on the students faces when they are able to solve a coding puzzle it is awesome,” White said. “This is the best thing about being a teacher is seeing students excited about what they are learning.”
