CS Education Hero: Cara Fields, Principal
Cara Fields is the principal at Beethoven Street Elementary School. She began a partnership between Beethoven and 9 Dots seven years ago and is truly dedicated to putting her students and teachers’ best interests first. Despite the numerous duties and responsibilities she has on her plate, Principal Fields is active and very much present in the coding classroom. This year her commitment and support to CS education has been remarkable, which is why she has been awarded the 2020 CS Education Administrator Heroes Award!
The CS Education Heroes Awards are granted to three outstanding individuals; two teachers and one administrator partnered with 9 Dots. Although the teachers and 9 Dots staff are the ones in the classroom weekly working closely with students, the work that the Principal does to bring CS education to students is the foundation and start to it all. Having committed and supportive administrators like Principal Fields is the key to providing a successful, sustainable CS education for every student.
Principal Field’s passion and care for her school is undoubtedly shown through her actions. She is very organized and clear with her school goals and is proud to have CS as a core subject offered at Beethoven. She believes in ensuring that all her students have access to CS education. Principal Fields would frequently go into the computer lab and actively support coding classes to get a more personal sense of what her students were learning and how they were interacting with the material. She acted as a role model for Beethoven students.
Principal Fields cares about bringing high quality CS education to all the students at Beethoven. She illustrated a keen eye to organization and a commitment to her school goals by crafting an intricate computer lab schedule that would allow as many classes as possible to have access to a transformative CS education. Her determination and commitment to ensuring her students had the tools to code was seen through her precise planning and scheduling of technology so that each class had equitable access to it. She values having her teachers at the center of that goal and is very supportive of her staff as they embark on the CS education journey. Not only considering her students but staff as well is really seen through the smooth transitions in between coding classes, allowing time to set up and prepare the computer lab for the next class. It’s small details like this that are often overlooked, that add to the success of CS education.
Principal Fields embraces perseverance and is quick to adapt in order to keep her goals and missions at the forefront. She applied for a grant to get equipment to teach girls STEM after school. When she was awarded the grant, she was surprised to know that there wouldn’t be on site support. She reacted gracefully by deciding to take initiative and lead the STEM club herself after school, even if that meant adding more to her already full plate. This is just the kind of principal she is -- fully committed to put her students first. Her leadership is seen through the hard work she does not only as an administrator but also the willingness she has to step into a teacher role. She brings the wonders of STEM education to young girls at Beethoven. You can tell how much the students enjoy her presence as they collaborate with her to figure out and design projects in the after school club.
Principal Fields cares that her students have an opportunity to engage in a rigorous CS education because she knows that it will open doors for them in their future. Her actions and commitment are seen with all that she does. Her dedication and commitment was extraordinary this year, as it has been for many years. Therefore, we are pleased to grant her the 2020 CS Education Administrator Heroes Award. Thank you for all that you do, Principal Fields!