Last week I had the opportunity to present at the California STEAM Symposium alongside Stephanie Sumarna from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Our session, “Cultivating Educator and Student Leadership through Computer Science and ROVs,” let us share how our underwater robotics program creates opportunities for both student and teacher growth.

Presenting Our Work

Our session, “Diving into Leadership: How CS and ROVs are Making Waves in Education,” showcased how Santa Cruz County fosters STEAM education through collaboration between schools, colleges, and local businesses. We highlighted our district’s new CTE wing with its makerspace and computer science programs, our Computer Science Honor Society chapter, and how tools like micro:bits have made electronics and robotics accessible across all grade levels.

The heart of our presentation was the ROV program itself - how it aligns with the UN’s Ocean Decade mission, promotes collaborative project-based learning, and builds community through mentorship and service. We shared student testimonials showing how the program develops leadership skills and encourages girls in STEM while emphasizing growth mindset over competition.

You can view our full presentation at sccoe.link/casteam2025.

Key Discoveries

The symposium was as much about learning as sharing. A few standout discoveries that will impact my teaching:

AI Literacy is Ready for Middle School - Found comprehensive, free curricula at everyday-ai.org with 22 lessons covering everything from basic concepts to societal impact. Many activities are unplugged and perfect for 6th-8th graders.

Cybersecurity Engages Everyone - Met a Title 1 teacher using cyber.org content with 7th-9th graders. She reported that all her students stay engaged, even those who struggle with traditional academics. Worth exploring for next year.

Microbit Gets Better - Several sessions showed more sophisticated, sequenced microbit curriculum that could easily represent secondary content to use with my middle and high school students.

The Real Value

While I gathered practical curriculum ideas, the real value was connecting with educators facing similar challenges. Whether discussing classroom management with middle schoolers or finding engaging content that meets standards, these conversations remind you that good teaching problems are universal.

The investment in professional development pays dividends not just in new ideas, but in renewed energy for the work. Sometimes you need to step outside your classroom to remember why you stepped into it in the first place.