Santa Fe High has four different computer science classes: the introductory class Computer Science/Programming, the more difficult class Scientific Technology, and two AP classes, one on Java and the other on Computer Science Principles. 

There is also a computer science club that runs during Mr. Smith’s advisory, in-room BC-003. 

“There are a bunch of different competitions that people can participate in,” Smith said. “There was the Governor’s STEM Challenge, the Supercomputing Challenge, the Congressional App Challenge, the PicoCTF Cybersecurity Challenge, and a bunch of other opportunities that we have. Different folks will choose to participate in different competitions.”  

The CS intro class covers a lot of different topics. It shows many options and what people can do with computer science, including mini-units on topics such as interactive fiction, virtual reality, and cybersecurity. 

The Scientific Technology class is split into a fall semester and a spring semester. The fall semester is a dual-credit class with the Santa Fe Community College. The spring semester is an entire project-based semester; students have the choice to follow up on a project from years past or whatever else they may be interested in. 

The “A” AP computer science class is a full-year focused on Java. The “B,” AP class jumps around a bit more. “We do some Scratch, we do some C, some web development, and we talk about overall topics of computer science, like the internet,” Mr. Smith explained.