New cybercrime course gives Ansonia students a leg up in field

ANSONIA — Students at Ansonia High School can study up on the basics for bitcoin, game design and starting soon, cybercrime.

The school district recently announced vocational teacher Giovanna Calabrese will begin teaching Cybercrime 101. Students will learn how cybercrime is committed and how to stop it. According to the announcement, Calabrese will teach students how to identify, investigate and acquire evidence of these crimes.

Superintendent Joe DiBacco said the course is a part of a program preparing students for college that has been around for two years. The course will make students more attractive job candidates in the future, he said.

“We started the cybersecurity track two years ago,” DiBacco said. “This pathway was created by listening to students’ interests and the great need in the job market for cyber security specialists. We want our students to be competitive in the global marketplace.”

While the cybersecurity track has been in existence for two years, this is the first time the will be a cybercrime component.

The course will count as college credits at Post University in Waterbury, which has partnered with Ansonia to offer the course.

Calabrese said the course would not only prepare students for career fields but would better protect them in an era filled with technological changes.

“Based on the changes in technology, we have to acclimate the students to prepare themselves and to acclimate with the technological changes that are being made in society,” Calabrese said.

The program starts in sophomore year, where students take a college writing class, she said. By the time the program concludes in senior year, Calabrese said students will have taken a total of five dual-enrollment courses. They will be able to acquire 15 college credits in total, she said.

Cybercrime is a broad term that can mean anything from hacking to financial fraud, harassment and even cyberwarfare. In short, if a criminal act is committed using a computer connected to the internet, it counts as cybercrime.

Calabrese said the course would also help students protect themselves while online.

She said she was especially gratified that the course was drawing attention from girls. Computers tends to be a maledominated field, she said.

“I’ve got a few female students interested in possibly pursuing this as a possible career choice. And that’s awesome,” she said. “It’s an industry that many men are in and not many women, and we’re trying to change that mindset.”

Boys or girls, she said the program will give Ansonia students an edge when they head off to college.

“They’re going to be way ahead of the game,” she said.