Besides her duties with the Bearcat bands, Angela Rhodes teaches an introductory computer science course for Booneville Schools.
An elective, the course was at one time required by state officials but computer science is rather now required to be embedded into other coursework and a specific course is not mandated.
Booneville Schools elected to continue with the course last year but it appeared that would not be the case this year, until Rhodes secured a McCarthy Dressman Education Foundation Academic Enrichment Grant.
As a result, a group of eight students in grades nine through 11 are enrolled in the class this year.
“The curriculum I used last year is expensive, but it is really good,” said Rhodes. “So I put in for a grant to see if I could help with that.”
During the summer Rhodes learned the grant would cover the subscription to the curriculum for two years so the schedule was reworked to offer it.
“My class covers what the computer is, networking, cybersecurity, and basic level programming,” said Rhodes.
Rhodes said last week she is happy to have computer science at the school “because that’s where the future is going, exponentially,” to include AI, cybersecurity, other programming languages, and other specialties that would have to be addressed in more in-depth courses.