Turpin High School selected as an Amazon Future Engineer school

Mr. Jesse Nelson, teaching advanced computer classes to THS students. Grant for the classes comes from Amazon as part of the Amazon Future Engineering program Turpin has now joined.

Turpin High School is pleased to announce that it has been selected as an Amazon Future Engineer (AFE) school - a partnership between Amazon and Edhesive to improve access to computer science education in communities currently underrepresented in the technology field.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 there will be 1.4 million computer-science-related jobs available and only 400,000 computer science graduates with the skills to apply for those jobs. Many students eager to fill that gap and obtain a high paying job in technology do not have access to computer science in their high schools. Often schools want to offer these courses to their students but do not have access to curriculum and/or teacher support materials. 

Amazon and Edhesive are partnering to address this gap by sponsoring teachers and administrators who demonstrate this need and are committed to bringing computer science to their school with access to content such as: Computer Science, AP Computer Science Principles, or AP Computer Science A courses. This content also includes access to support forums for both students and educators new to learning or teaching computer science. Interested schools can learn more at www.amazonfutureegineer.com, including how students can access college scholarships and internships at Amazon. 

Quote from THS Principal Mrs. Lehnert: 
“Turpin joins the list of rare United States schools to become an Amazon Future Engineer School.  What an honor and privilege Turpin students are experiencing because of our dedicated teachers, Mr. Buller and Mr. Nelson!  I am incredibly proud of the hard work Mr. Buller put in to apply for this grant opportunity, and I am equally proud of the training Mr. Nelson completed in order to teach these classes. This innovative program will give Turpin students a leg up in their education and moving towards a career. Turpin shines as a small community that is doing big things.”
 
Student quote Junior Gwynlyn Hanna: 
“I am currently a Junior at Turpin High School and am deeply grateful for the opportunity to take AP computer science, an option new to Turpin this year. This course is available through Edhesive, a company partnered with Amazon who’s goal is to improve the computer education of students around the world. Through this program, my peers and I have been blessed with the opportunity to learn computer programs such as Java and Python. In only couple of week I have already expanded my knowledge of programming immensely. This opportunity has been very inspiring, and I am eager to apply these newfound skills not only in my highschool engineering program but also in my future career in the STEM field. This opportunity made available by Edhesive is going to help the world in numerous ways by building better programmers.”

Quote from Turpin AP Computer Science Teacher Jesse Nelson:
“We are moving to a different course structure in hopes of moving with the trends in computer-based learning. In the past, the general focus of introductory computer courses has been on creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and databases. While those courses are still relevant, most students are already creating those types of files as early as second grade. By the time they are in high school, basic computer courses are just that, basic.
With our new course offerings, students will be able to look at computing on a higher level. While not necessarily more difficult, it should provide a new set of challenges that focuses on problem-solving while also learning about computer programming in the process. This should be beneficial to all students, regardless of their future career plans and goals.“
 
Facts that are relevant:

• # of Turpin HS students involved: 28
• Teachers from Turpin High School involved: Jesse Nelson and Ryan Buller
• THS Principal: Ashley Lehnert
• Student quoted: Junior Gwynlyn Hannah
• Teacher from Perryton who told Turpin about the program: Eric North
• 2 classes being taught this year, 15 students enrolled in AP Computer Science which focuses on the Java programming language, 13 students enrolled in Computer Science, which focuses on Python
• This is the first time Turpin has been in a part of the Amazon Future Engineer Program
• Turpin has had an Engineering Club for four years

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