Recognizing October is Cybersecurity Awareness month and recognizing that a career in the high demand field of cybersecurity may be of interest to students in high school, the Maine Department of Education (DOE) would like to share information about a scholarship opportunity for high school teachers to be trained to teach cybersecurity.
Jointly sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Security Agency, the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity is funding the first credentialing program for high school cybersecurity education in the country through a collaborative of higher education institutions called the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy (NCTA). The inaugural program will prepare 90 high school teachers to teach an advanced cybersecurity course designed for high school teachers.
Three universities (DePaul, University of Louisville, and UA Little Rock) will be offering the virtual program, with a little bit of variation depending on the university’s program. Teachers who are accepted into the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will receive funding covering tuition for the 12-credit hour virtual graduate certificate program that will include coursework on teaching cybersecurity, foundations of cybersecurity, network security, and advanced topics designed for high school teachers.
With 90 scholarships available, interested teachers should register for information before December 1, 2021 at this National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy link. The application for the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy will open in December and the National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy program will begin in Summer 2022.
To view the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s press release about its National Cybersecurity Teaching Academy program click this UA Little Rock link.
For more information about the K-12 Maine Learning Results Life and Career Ready Standards and specific strategies for facilitating career awareness, exploration, planning, and development with students, contact Maine DOE Life and Career Ready Education Specialist, Diana Doiron at diana.doiron@maine.gov or 207-592-2128.