California Department of Education (CDE) staff presented top computer security awards to students today at Mission San Jose High School, on behalf of the U.S. Cyber Challenge. The U.S. Cyber Challenge is a national online contest for high school students that feature a series of quizzes in the most important foundational fields of cyber security: networking, operating systems, and system administration. Students from this school took 8 of the top 25 positions in the competition that includes more than 2,000 high school students from 32 states and 3 U.S. Territories.
Gary Page, CDE Information and Communication Technologies Sector Consultant, said the “story behind the story” for this district and school is that while it is a very high performing school, the Board of Trustees and District Superintendent of the Fremont Unified School District get results by demonstrating leadership and commitment to accountability for continuous improvement. The District’s “Data Dashboard” The dashboard consolidates the work that has been done by staff and the Board of Education, to reflect a balance of indicators that impact teaching and learning system-wide:
Data Dashboard Downloads:
The “mission possible” attitude of Principal Sandra Prairie sets the tone for the school’s staff and students and the credit for initiative to take on another activity that is “outside the classroom” goes to teacher Matt Lazar. Mr. Lazar attributes much of the student success to the exceptional instruction they receive from strong science and math departments at the school.
Jeffrey Yuan, Jeff Sun and Brandon Wu, all students from Mission San Jose High School, placed first, second and third place among all schools competing in California in the U.S. Cyber Challenge. Jeffrey took first place in California and fifth place among more than 2,000 high school students. In addition to awards for first in California and fifth in the competition, Jeffrey was presented a $500 scholarship from the (ISC)2 organization.
“California is proud of the students who competed in the Cyber Foundations contest. Mission San Jose High School is fortunate to have teachers who are willing to take the extra time and effort to support student participation in this competition. The success of our students is a direct reflection of their hard work, and dedicated parents, teachers, and school administrators. Because we find knowledge about cyber security is important in every career field, this experience will help the students regardless of the career path they choose to take” remarked Mr. Page.
About U.S. Cyber Challenge:
The mission of the U.S. Cyber Challenge (USCC), a division of the Center for Internet Security, is to significantly reduce the shortage in the cyber workforce by identifying, recruiting and placing the next generation of cyber security professionals. USCC is a national coalition of public-private sector entities collaborating to enhance the workforce with the next generation of cyber security professionals through skill development activities, mentoring, and resources, and the facilitation of scholarship, internship and employment opportunities. USCC’s goal is to find 10,000 of America’s best and brightest to fill the ranks of cyber security professionals where their skills can be of the greatest value to the nation.
About (ISC)2:
(ISC)2 is a not-for-profit leader in educating and certifying information security professionals throughout their careers, provided the $500 scholarship. “In this constantly evolving field, it is essential that we provide the future cyber-security workforce with the educational and career path tools they need to succeed,” said Julie Peeler, (ISC)2 Foundation director.” (ISC)2’s Information Security Scholarship Program is dedicated to supporting competitions such as this one that ignite a spark of passion in students for the security field and that help to fill the pipeline of future recruits in an industry strapped for qualified, certified professionals. We applaud the efforts of all the competitors and send our congratulations to the winners. We hope they all continue their interest in this area of study and look forward to their bright futures in our industry.”