ODU Helps Fill Virginia’s Need for More Computer Science Teachers

By Tiffany Whitfield

More high school students in Virginia are pursuing dual enrollment courses – a 54% increase since 2012, according to one report – and a need has emerged in a leading field of study: computer science. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that STEM jobs will grow by almost 11% by 2031, almost twice as fast as all other fields.

With this increased demand, there is a need for more high school teachers qualified to teach dual enrollment computer science courses.

In the fall of 2020, Lesley Frew, a math teacher at McLean High School in Fairfax, saw this need firsthand and investigated what it would take to earn her qualifications.

That led her to Old Dominion University and Assistant Chair and Professor of Computer Science Michele Weigle, Ph.D. Frew already had her master’s degree in teaching but needed six graduate courses in computer science for the dual enrollment certification.

Together, Frew and Dr. Weigle created the Computer Science for Teachers Graduate Certificate to give her access to the courses she needed. In 2022, Frew graduated from this first-of-its-kind program.

“Once I heard that no other university in Virginia offered this program for teachers, I knew it was something ODU had to do, especially since we already offered all of the needed courses in an online format,” said Dr. Weigle. “Great teachers are usually also great students, so we’re excited to have more high school teachers taking our graduate courses.”

ODU is partnering with the Virginia Department ofEducation to offer scholarships for teachers interested in enrolling in the certificate program.

By offering asynchronous, online courses, Frew was able to complete the program while teaching full time.

“I researched everypublic university in Virginia, and ODU’s materials were just very welcomingtowards people that work full timeand who are military, and both of those factors seemed to be their specialty,” she said.“I knew immediately that ODU is definitely the place where I’m going to go toget these classes done.”

Frew also feels proud to represent female teachers in computer science.

“One of the major issues that I had as anundergrad was there weren’t any femalecomputer science professors, and we were really underrepresented,” she said. “And when I took my first course with Dr. Weigle I was like,‘Oh, it’s a female computer science professor.This is so cool,’ and I know that’show my students feel too.”

Frew also appreciated how ODU faculty members worked with her busy schedule and the demands of being a full-time teacher. In a data science course with Sampath Jayarathna, Ph.D., she remembered how he wrote, “I know some ofyou work full time, I’m going to work withyou” on his syllabus.

While completing the program, Frew worked with her schooldistrict to get dual enrollment computer science courses added to her students’ schedules by the fall of 2022.

“I don’twant to be the only teacher that does this,” Frew said.

Her advice to other Virginia high school teachers seeking the non-degree seeking certificate: “Have a plan and know that the professors hereat ODU are really accommodating of students thatwork full-time, and they have high expectations of you. Everyone wants you to besuccessful and just make sure you have a goodsupport system back at your baseschool or county as well.”

ODU will officially offer the new Computer Science for Teachers Graduate Certificate this fall. It is an 18-credit certificate which counts toward a Master of Science degree in computer science, leaving only 13 additional credits to earn the full degree.

Frew ended up staying at ODU to complete her M.S. degree in 2024 and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in Computer Science.

Reflecting on her journey, Frew said she is grateful the program helped her give her students a leg up on their education journey.

“I did itfor my students, and that’s really what itcomes back to – I wanted them tobe able to take these additional classes andget their credits,” Frew said. “My first group of studentsknew they were at the only high school in Fairfax County thateven offered (and still offers) these classes, and they were grateful for them.”