PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — Dr. Shane Wines of Calvert High School won’t be in Calvert’s classrooms this year — he was named an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow, chosen as one of only 15 educators from around the country out of thousands of applicants to spend 11 months serving at the national level to improve education outcomes in his field. Dr. Wines is the only Maryland educator in this year’s cohort, a group that includes a National Teacher of the Year and other award-winning educators.
Dr. Wines currently serves as both the computer science coordinator and a high school teacher in Calvert County Public Schools (CCPS). He also facilitates professional development for the Maryland Center for Computing Education and Code in the Schools, mentors computer science educators, and was named Calvert County’s 2020 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Teacher of the Year.
Dr. Wines is also a recipient of the Maryland Governor’s Citation and served as president of the Maryland Chapter of the Computer Science Teachers Association, leading a statewide network of over 500 educators who advocate for accessible and high-quality computer science instruction, according to CCPS STEM Supervisor Dr. Crystal Ricks.
The Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship (AEF) was launched in 1994 and provides a “unique opportunity for accomplished K-12 educators in the fields of STEM to serve in the national education arena.”
Educators who participate in the fellowship work in Washington, D.C., for 11 months and gain access to a national network of educators and leaders. They present projects and findings, attend conferences, work on national curriculum, and dedicate their time to understanding the challenges and possibilities for STEM education and its implications for our larger society and economy.
“I’m just so passionate and excited about all of this,” Dr. Wines said.
For Dr. Wines, this opportunity is about fostering a love of learning and bringing his holistic view of STEM education to the community. Like many great educators before him, Dr. Wines understands that a great education is not just about creating experts in his field or training kids for specific jobs. Instead, his wide-lens view of STEM education shows a genuine belief that a love of learning, broad curiosity and critical thinking skills set kids up for success — whether they go into STEM fields or not.
In fact, in his foundational computer science class, kids don’t even code for the first month. First, they need to learn how to collaborate, how to apply their creativity and how to look at problems and say, I can figure this out. A lot of that learning takes place off a computer, completing hands-on activities.
That wide view of the benefits of STEM fuels Dr. Wines’ drive to engage with the community, too — he’s been involved in or led numerous community-based STEM organizations, including Girls Who Code and Code in the Schools in Baltimore. He believes his community involvement was important in his fellowship selection.
“I think they saw capacity for growth and for leadership,” he said. “They saw that I could grow and wanted to help other people to grow.”
Dr. Wines is using his fellowship time to strengthen his skills, obtain certifications and develop curriculum that can be used around Maryland, and he believes the application committee saw his dedication to making sure he’d take everything he learned during his fellowship and give it right back to the community.
“They like to see people contributing to the entire STEM pipeline,” he added.
Dr. Wines is developing both digital and offline curriculum that can help expand STEM and AI learning for students and families. Empowering families to understand technology and how it fits into our lives can help kids love education, help them find their path and encourage them to think about the community as a whole.
This love of learning came later in life for Dr. Wines himself — and maybe not coincidentally, through games. Connecting with gamers online showed him worlds outside of his own. He discovered from friends that he had options for education — and he could study something he actually liked. He went on to earn his bachelor’s in computer science from Coastal Carolina University.
Then, when he was between jobs, he decided to substitute teach. He met the now-principal of Southern Middle School, Ryan Crowley, whose passion for teaching sparked his own. He also met Dr. Susan Johnson, who was the principal of Calvert High School at the time and is now the district’s chief academic officer. According to Dr. Wines, Dr. Johnson saw his passion for the job and asked him to revamp the computer science program.
He knew teaching was meant to be his life’s work “pretty much within the first week.”
That love for teaching has already been “renewed” just two months into the fellowship. In his classes, he says he teaches a skill and then gives kids options to see what they create. The fellowship is giving him more tools to provide that opportunity for kids.
“I absolutely love it,” Dr. Wines said. “I love seeing kids create. I’m still like, holy cow, I taught you something!”
And when the fellowship is over? He’s excited to implement some of the programs he’s working on with the Department of Defense at the school and community level. And he will continue to help kids develop in STEM the way he always has — by being a great teacher whose classes kids love.
“It’s partly just about coming to school every day and being respectful of students with a smile on my face. I can show students it’s okay to make a mistake. If I make a mistake and the kids call me out, that shows the teamwork piece of it all.”
Another part of being a good teacher is guiding kids through a changing world.
“Even if you decide you don’t want to do computer science, you are gaining skills to succeed,” Dr. Wines said. “We get into discussions about things like privacy, data collection, protecting data, and how much it affects them in the real world every single day.”
Dr. Wines has been teaching in Calvert County Public Schools for over a decade and is excited to return in the 2026–27 school year to share everything he’s learned. In the meantime, he hopes to encourage other educators to apply for the fellowship. Sponsoring agencies change every year, so educators have exciting opportunities to serve with NASA, the Department of Defense or the Department of Energy, depending on the year — making it an exciting opportunity for curious educators who understand the value of bringing new knowledge into their fields, or how their knowledge can shape the future.
The application deadline for next year’s fellowship is Nov. 13. Coordinators have office hours on Oct. 29, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12. Of course, he says, you can always send your questions to him.
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