This month’s Alumni Spotlight features Peter DePeri, a dedicated math and computer science teacher at Westwood Regional High School in Washington Township, New Jersey. Peter began his career with a bachelor's in mathematics followed by a master's in educational leadership and supervision. He recently completed his second master's in NJCTL's Computer Science Endorsement Program.

Peter had already been teaching AP Computer Science when he heard that new certification requirements were on the horizon. He enrolled in NJCTL's program both for the opportunity to meet future standards and because he could move on the salary guide by earning his master's plus 30. "The timing made a lot of sense," he says. "This program helped me grow professionally and financially."

As a father of two young boys, Peter needed a program that could fit into his busy life. "NJCTL's programs are asynchronous and that was a huge reason why I signed up." Peter explains. "I work another job in addition to teaching. This program provided the flexibility to do what I want when I wanted," he says. "My older son just turned four and my younger son will be two next week. So, it's wild in my house--in the best possible way. If my kids are crying at 8:30 at night, I can pause a lab--not a Zoom call," he says. "That flexibility is everything."

Though he's now thriving in computer science, it wasn't always the plan. "I never intended to teach computer science," he explains. "I was changing districts and took over a math/computer science position. But I've stuck with it and I'm really glad I did."

What he loves most is seeing his students with no content background turn into independent problem-solvers. "I have kids who've never done anything related--not even HTML--jump right into AP Computer Science. These kids want to be challenged and they try so hard. Many of these students are reading ahead, building their own projects for fun, and showing me what they made. It's so awesome!"

He was drawn to NJCTL's program not just for its flexibility but also because a colleague told him it was affordable and that the expectations were fair. "There isn't a ton of busy work. It reinforced a lot of content I already knew and gave me new teaching strategies."

"I had some good talks with my instructor about the social constructivist model. That gave me a whole different lens on how to look at teaching computer science," he says. "I also started using Socrative a lot more for polling and I intend to use this across all my classes next year.". It's great because it gives me real-time feedback, and it's anonymous so students can see if they're the only one who didn't understand something. That's important for them to know too."

Peter has already sent three colleagues NJCTL's way. "Two are signed up and one is signing up in a couple of weeks," he says. "I just tell them--the price is competitive, the instructors genuinely care, and the asynchronous piece is everything!"

"Back in undergrad everyone told me to go into business, so I took some business classes and hated it. I was always good at math in high school and enjoy helping people. Teaching was the logical answer. I think I made a pretty good decision."