Want a seven-day agenda for a trip to Greece? 

An image of a llama sipping tea with a corgi? Even an original song about zombies in a snowstorm?

With just a few keystrokes, today’s technology can deliver it all — and it’s almost like magic. From artificial intelligence to coding and digital design, the technology world is evolving at lightning speed. Fortunately, Eden Prairie Schools students aren’t just keeping up. In computer science (CS) courses across all age groups, Eagles are learning the skills they will need to lead technological innovation every single day.

“We are all users of computer science; we are all users of technology. It affects everything in our lives right now,” said Eden Prairie High School (EPHS) CS and math teacher Jessica Brent. “How does our data get used, transformed and stored? What kind of concerns should we have? There’s constant evolution that’s happening, and we want our students to be on the cutting edge of that.”

Eagles can begin to explore CS in elementary school by leading their own learning in once-per-week Discovery Groups like “Coding” and “Terrific Technology.” At the middle school level, course options range from Design, Model & Make to Bot Builders & Drone Drivers. And in high school, students choose from courses including AP Computer Science, Cybersecurity, Java, AP Computer Science Principles, Python and the iOS Mobile App Development Capstone. High school students can also join Computer Science Honors Society (CSHS) to further their studies and inspire other students across the district by sharing what they’ve learned.

“We are continuing to expand our offerings of computer science and providing access to students at all ages and all levels,” said Brent. “Whether you are playing with robots, learning how to put code together for the first time, or figuring out how a drone works and getting it to follow a set of instructions, it’s a lot of playing and breaking things, and then learning how to fix them. 

That approach resonates with students. “The classes at Eden Prairie showed me that computer science is not just coding. It involves collaborating, pitching ideas and puzzling together information,” said Maya Varikuti (‘25), who will pursue CS at the University of Wisconsin-Madison this fall. “Our world is becoming increasingly dependent on technology, so it’s important to understand how it works.”

Just as puzzling and pitching happen every day in the CS classroom, the district also aims to embed technology topics into its curriculum beyond dedicated electives so that all students experience this unique way of thinking. Exposure is particularly important for groups who are traditionally underrepresented in the CS field: Brent cited studies that showed girls who took CS in high school were 10 times more likely to pursue it in college, and Black and Hispanic students were seven to eight times more likely to major after taking a high school course. “If we can do anything to increase the diversity of the workforce in computer science, we need to do that at the youngest levels possible.”

Alex Townsend, the father of soon-to-be first grader Campbell and future Little Eagle Roland, is uniquely equipped to speak to the importance of CS education in Eden Prairie Schools. Townsend formerly served as the district’s director of technology and now works for Eden Prairie-based Arctic Wolf, which helps organizations (including Eden Prairie Schools) mitigate their cybersecurity risk. In addition to offering site visits and guest speakers to EP’s CS students, Arctic Wolf annually donates two $2,000 scholarships to Eagles pursuing CS in college. Though AI offers unique advantages, “at the end of the day, you can’t run a cybersecurity company on just machines,” said Townsend. “So we’re providing kids today with the opportunity to recognize and understand how technology impacts our world, and how to leverage human skills that differentiate themselves from the machine, from AI.” 

Watching his daughter grow at Cedar Ridge Elementary has affirmed Townsend’s belief in the importance of young girls in particular having opportunities to explore CS. “The percentage of women in cybersecurity is grossly underrepresented, and so having a daughter who is exposed to these things and has those opportunities to say, ‘This is something I can do in my career’ — she needs these role models,” he explained. He says Brent, along with EPHS students who connect with Eagles as young as kindergarten, help students of all backgrounds see themselves in the field. “Kids need that opportunity to see that the whole world is available to them.” 

District leaders agree. “We intentionally create opportunities for students to engage with technology as creators, problem-solvers and innovators — not just consumers,” says current Eden Prairie Schools Director of Technology Tina Moses. “From a Technology Department standpoint, we really partner with our teachers to find out how we can best support our future tech leaders. Sometimes that’s in front of the scenes, like in our new Emerging Technologies Lab, and sometimes it’s behind the scenes in things like policy groups dedicated to giving computer science students the right amount of access while still keeping our network secure. We really want to help build the next generation of IT professionals.”

Another key factor for Eagles’ success? “They have people like Jessica,” said Townsend. Brent “has driven this program and has pursued opportunities for kids relentlessly. I think that Jessica has been a true champion for the kids of Eden Prairie Schools — she is constantly looking for opportunities for students to have real-world experiences.”

Those students, some of whom have presented their work at conferences and won national awards, agree. “Ms. Brent brings so much genuine curiosity and enthusiasm to her classroom, creating an environment where every lesson is less lecture and more open-ended exploration,” said Ziwei Chen (‘25), who will major in CS at Carnegie Mellon University. “I am confident that I am not alone in being inspired to pursue this passion because of her.”

For Brent, who was named the 2025 Aspirations in Computing State Educator for Minnesota and who has mentored three new computer science teachers to support EPHS’s growing program, it all comes back to developing the leaders of the future. These Eagles are critical thinkers and policy shapers who will help society navigate the future of technology, but also countless other industries. “Even if students don’t go into computer science themselves, the skills they learn help them in problem solving, critical thinking and other things too. It’s a very, very interdisciplinary topic,” Brent explained. “The thing that I am, every day, most blown away with is the creativity and curiosity of our students. They are hungry for opportunities to test and expand their knowledge,” she smiled. And soon, “it doesn’t feel like magic anymore. It feels like science.”