Polytechnic School Wins AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award



Students in AP Computer Science.

 

The College Board awarded Polytechnic School the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award, which recognizes schools that are closing the gender gap and expanding young women’s access to computer science coursework in AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) and AP Computer Science A (AP CSA).

This award honors schools that have either reached 50% or higher female examinee representation in one of or both AP computer science courses, or whose percentage of the female examinees met or exceeded that of the school’s female population. A total of 1,119 schools are being recognized for their work toward equal gender representation during the 2019-2020 school year.

Richard White, Poly’s AP Computer science teacher said, “Facility with technology, including computer science and computational thinking, is increasingly important for all students. As an educator, I feel it is especially important for me to encourage female-identifying students and students of color to enroll, students who might otherwise feel as if a historical lack of diversity in the field is an indication that they shouldn’t participate.”

In the 2019-2020 school year there were 22 students enrolled in AP Computer Science A: 11 male and 11 female. Richard shares that this was unusual as the class has never had 50-50 gender parity before. This year there are 38 students enrolled in AP Computer Science A, and just over a third of those are female.

“My experiences with computer science at Poly have expanded my critical thinking skills and enabled me to tackle challenging problems I never would have encountered otherwise,” said Eliza W. ’22. “The strategies I have learned with respect to planning, peer collaboration, and problem-solving will remain relevant throughout the rest of my academic career, regardless of the subject matter.”

Many Poly alumni have gone on to major in computer science, and many of them female. One such alumna is Ally Annick ’16 who went into the Naval Academy and recently graduated with a degree in cyber operations.

Find more information about Poly’s Computer Science program here.

Polytechnic School, 1030 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, (626) 396-6300 or visit www.polytechnic.org.

 

 

 

 

 

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