Spotsylvania teacher is one of two in the country to receive national award | Education

“The U.S. Department of Education called me here at school to tell me about it,” Rice said. “So yeah, it’s pretty exciting.”

In addition to teaching cybersecurity courses at Spotsylvania High School—where enrollment in the program has tripled in the past four years—Rice leads the all-girls Cyber Knights team, which placed second at the Girls Go Cyberstart National Competition in 2019 and 2020.

She also helps other teachers develop cybersecurity programs and sits on the K–12 advisory board of Virginia Cyber Range, an organization that provides virtual environments to public schools for use in cybersecurity labs and exercises.

“I’m very passionate about not only getting cybersecurity education to my students but also for teachers to start teaching cybersecurity and have the resources they need available,” Rice said.

According to a press release issued by the Department of Education, 100 percent of Rice’s students graduate and 100 percent go on to college, enter the military or go straight into the workforce.

Rice’s leadership has increased the number of girls in Spotsylvania High School’s cybersecurity program and she was invited to give a presentation on the topic at a conference sponsored by the National Security Agency this fall.