In a Chalkbeat New York story about New York City teachers working to get more students from underrepresented groups engaged in computer science, MƒA Master Teachers Shanua Newton-Rodriguez and Joel Bianchi are highlighted as educators leading by example. In the article, Newton-Rodriguez and Bianchi shared their teaching strategies and the need for peer support.

"While Newton-Rodriguez has helped her school build up its computer science program, including the Advanced Placement courses in the subject that she teaches, she also found a supportive community of computer science educators through Math for America, a nonprofit focused on connecting the city’s accomplished math and science teachers. Joel Bianchi, a computer science teacher at Energy Tech High School in Queens, said meeting colleagues through Math for America has been “life-giving,” since he had previously felt like he was on “an island” working on the subject matter."

Joel Bianchi

MƒA Master Teacher Joel Bianchi teaches computer science at Energy Tech High School in Queens. (Credit: Fund for the City of New York)

Shanua Newton-Rodriguez

MƒA Master Teacher Shanua Newton-Rodriguez accepting her Sloan Award for Excellence in Teaching Science and Mathematics in April 2022. (Credit: Ayano Hisa)