Mary Wolz

Mary Walz has been a Computer Science teacher at Sauk Prairie High School since 1988. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education with a Major in Mathematics and a Minor in Computer Science from The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She later continued her studies at St. Mary’s University in Minnesota and earned a masters in degree in Education.

Mary’s passion is to help expand Computer Science learning opportunities for all students and provide equity in CS education in Wisconsin. She is committed to supporting other teachers, and helping other districts grow their Computer Science programs. She has been a CSTA leader at large for the last five years, and has been part of the “Mentors in CS” program providing guidance and support to teachers new to teaching Computer Science. Mary has been an AP Computer Science Principles reader for several years and was a College Board AP Computer Science Principles mentor in 2017.

To increase the female participation in Computer Science and address gender equity, Mary provides opportunities for all students in her math classes and other students during lunch to participate in Computer Science Education Week activities. She earned the College Board's AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for attaining female student representation in AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) in 2019. She began a school Computer Science Club in 2020 that has included supervision of esports, CyberPatriot, American Computer Science League, Bebras, CyberStart, and hacking competitions. The current leadership of the Computer Science Club is 66% female and the CyberPatriot and winter esports teams were 50% female.