NCWIT : Award : Aspirations in Computing Educator Award

NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing

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Aspirations in Computing Educator Award

Meet Our Educators

Educators such as teachers, technology specialists, counselors and more play a pivotal role in addressing the shortage of young women in computing. Sixty-seven percent of applicants report learning about the Aspirations Award from a teacher or other school official. We are able to reach these young women through the generous support of the Computer Science Teacher's Association, the International Society for Technology Education, and the American School Counselors Association.

In addition to identifying a pool of talented young women, the Aspirations Award also identifies outstanding educators who play a pivotal role in helping to encourage the young women to continue exploring their interest in computing and technology. The NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award recognizes educators for their efforts to promote gender equity in computing. The awardees are selected from the educators who are engaged in endorsing Aspirations award applications. Each awardee is eligible to receive up to $1000 in reimbursement for participation in a computing-related professional development opportunity. The Aspirations Educator Award began with gift from Google, and in its first year the Educator Award was able to recognize 20 exceptional high-school teachers from around the country. We are happy to welcome the Defrag Conference as a sponsor in 2011-12.

Educator Thank You Program

NCWIT recognizes the importance educators have on young women, not only through the Educator Award, but also through the Educator Thank You Program. Thanks to funding by Google, in 2011 NCWIT was able to formally thank each of the 875 educators who endorsed their students for the Aspirations Award in the 2010-2011 round. Each educator received a thank you letter from NCWIT, a set of K-12 resources for girls in IT, and a $25 Amazon gift card. We hope that this campaign will not only express our appreciation for the efforts of these educators, but also encourage them to support and encourage even more young women.

"Today I received the nicest package from NWCIT. It was such a nice surprise and filled with all kinds of great information I can't wait to look through and see how it can be used in my program, especially to encourage the girls!"

– Debi Bender
Roxborough High School