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College Board Awards Whitney High School for Diversity

January 18, 2022

Highlighting Female Engagement in Computer Science Courses

January 18, 2023 – Whitney High School has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles. Schools honored with the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have expanded girls’ access to AP computer science courses.

Whitney High School is one of only 832 recognized in the AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) category. Schools earn this recognition for either achieving 50% or higher female representation in one of the two AP computer science courses or a percentage of the female computer science exam takers meeting or exceeding that of the school’s female population during the 2021-2022 school year. 

“I wholeheartedly congratulate Whitney High School for this remarkable achievement,” said Mr. Toan Nguyen, Interim Superintendent of the ABC Unified School District. “This honor shows the significant steps the school and ABCUSD are taking to ensure parity and equity in advanced courses and subjects, like computer science.”

Providing female students with access to computer science courses is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and driving innovation, creativity, and representation. The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $97,430 in May 2021. However, women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations.

According to research conducted by College Board, female students who take AP CSP in high school are more than five times as likely to major in computer science in college compared to female students of similar background and academic preparation who did not take CSP. The study also finds AP CSP serves as a stepping stone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.

“What an honor for Whitney High School to earn this award,” said ABCUSD Board President Mr. Brad Beach. “Computer science impacts us all each and every day, and the courses we offer at Whitney High School and across the District give our students the strong foundation they need to continue their education at a college or university.”