Roger Espinosa and students produced this Digital Voice Award-winning video about a successful vocational education program for incarcerated students.  The contemporary video has a personal feel, shedding insight on students’ lives while demonstrating valuable lessons on electrical trade skills.

Roger is a teacher at Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu, California.  “Kilpatrick [...]]]>  

Roger Espinosa, Teacher and Documentarian at Kilpatrick High School

Roger Espinosa and students produced this Digital Voice Award-winning video about a successful vocational education program for incarcerated students.  The contemporary video has a personal feel, shedding insight on students’ lives while demonstrating valuable lessons on electrical trade skills.

Roger is a teacher at Camp Kilpatrick in Malibu, California.  “Kilpatrick High School” is part of Education Programs at Los Angeles County Office of Education, and helps incarcerated students get an education.  Roger is also a successful grant writer and recipient.

It’s teachers like Roger that contribute a great deal to the kids who most need strong insight, inspiration, encouragement and hope.

Click here to see the video.

Urbans students may still shy away from computer science.  LAUSD’s [...]]]> Only one in two thousand K-12 students in California took the AP test for computer science in 2008.  That’s .o5% … much much less than 1%.   Strange results considering computer science is more relevant than ever and remains amongst the highest categories in employment growth projections.

Urbans students may still shy away from computer science.  LAUSD’s John Landa, Todd Ullah and Diane Watkins are working to change that, along with Joanna Goode, University or Oregon,  and UCLA’s Jane Margolis.   The “Into The Loop” program is officially called the Computer Science Equity Alliance.  

Nerdy Computer Science Stereotype Blown-Away by LAUSD

The program has also helped blow-away nerdy stereotypes for computer science and is being expanded at LAUSD after after seeing an increase in computer science participation by women and “minority” students  by well over 100%, sometimes 500%. 

The National Science Foundation, UCLA and LAUSD have been partnering on the program to increase the number of students in California taking the AP test in computer science.  “Computer science is the iPhone.  It is social networking and downlading MP3s”, Joanna Goode stated in an LA Times article last year.  And leveraging the momentum that students already have in these ubiquitous areas makes computer science more fun and more relevant for todays’ kids as they consider their future careers.

Here is more info on Into The Loop and teacher resources.