CS Education Hero: Claudia Frutos, 4th Grade Teacher

The 9 Dots CS Education Heroes Awards were created as a way to recognize exceptional educators. These heroes have gone above and beyond to provide a transformative computer science education for every student. Now in our second year, we are delighted to announce three new awardees. We’ve chosen each of the awardees from our community of educators who are committed to bringing computer science to all students - particularly those from underserved communities. We want to celebrate the work done by these educators who create learning environments that engage every student, foster joy, and promote fearlessness in problem solving. We aim to empower students by transforming the way they voice their ideas, understand their world, and imagine their futures. Thus, it is with pleasure to announce that Mrs. Claudia Frutos, a 4th grade teacher from Ardela B. Tibby Elementary School in Compton, CA, is this years’ awardee.

Ms. Frutos has been an amazing champion of CS education. She’s been part of the Get Coding program for two years now. Get Coding implements a gradual release program that provides teachers with full support their first year, partial support their second year, and independent support their third year and beyond. The support level determines the amount and kind of support that teacher needs. The goal of the gradual release is to provide teachers a rigorous and thorough learning experience and build their confidence over the course of two years to hone their skills to teach computer science. Ms. Frutos is currently partial support and has a coding coordinator teach the first half of the coding class. Her work in the classroom exemplifies what happens when skill meets passion. She leads her classroom with a vibrant and robust tenacity that’s reflected in her students’ curiosity and engagement. James Ward, the 9 Dots Coordinator at Tibby who worked closely with Ms. Frutos this year, recalled “there was a moment when the students were excited about a coding question and I couldn’t refocus them. Ms.Frutos stepped in, and with a single word she refocused the students, all while keeping a smile." 

This year, 9 Dots launched our teacher Certification Program, an optional online professional development that provides teachers with an interactive learning platform to get them acquainted with the various coding concepts that their students will learn over the course of the school year.  Diligently, Ms. Frutos completed the entire program within the first months. 9 Dots’ Head of Instruction described how “we created the Teacher Certification Project (TCP) to supplement teacher learning throughout the school year. Completing the TCP demonstrates mastery over coding concepts and signals that a teacher has gone above and beyond to deliver excellent instruction!”

This commitment to learning coding concepts translated over to her strong ability to teach her students CS. It’s this kind of passion and involvement that’s necessary to push the needle forward and lead our students to their own CS growth. She is their role model. It was no surprise when she stepped up to the plate to teach her students on her own. One day during the school year Ms.Frutos missed a coding session. Instead of allowing her students to miss a coding lesson, she went ahead and taught it herself. This happened on a few occasions throughout the school year and each time we knew we could trust her to put her students’ growth and development at the forefront and continue their education, no matter the barriers.

With computer science and technology playing an increasingly dominant role in our economic, social, and civic lives, we must ensure that every child is prepared to navigate the demands of this rapidly evolving new world. When low-income students, girls, and students of color lack inclusive access to CS education, we are perpetuating systemic inequities and doing an injustice to our students and to our shared future. This is why we must celebrate educators, our CS Superheroes, as they are on the frontlines of this mission, cultivating wonder and instilling the joy of coding to our students. It’s imperative that we have educators who have sincerely invested in their students’ learning experience. Teachers have a million and one things on their plate on any given day, and it takes someone truly special to make time at home to educate themselves and become a student again. Ms. Frutos’s zeal for learning computer science paired with her love of teaching shows the power a teacher has on their student lives. We thank you for your dedication and passion Ms.Frutos!