AHA Earns AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award

The Academy of the Holy Angels has received The College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award. AHA was recognized for achieving high female representation in Advanced Placement Computer Science A during the 2021-22 school year. AHA is one of only 209 schools in the nation to be recognized for closing the gender gap in AP CSA.

Holy Angels first won this award for the 2019-2020 academic year.

“I am extremely proud of this award,” AHA Upper School Principal Jean Miller stated. “Increasingly, all career paths will intersect with technology in one form or another. It is imperative that all of the voices are in the room as new technologies and software are developed. I am happy that Holy Angels, once again, is being recognized for its innovative and advanced STEM courses and that our students continue to graduate with not only advanced ability, but also with notable confidence in an underrepresented field.”

AHA offers young women an award-winning, nationally recognized STREAM curriculum that integrates science, technology, religion, engineering, art, and math. As a Female Diversity Award recipient, AHA is considered an inspiration and model for all American high schools, where overall, female students remain underrepresented in computer science classes, comprising just 33% of AP Computer Science Principles participants and 25% of AP Computer Science A participants.

“Computer science is the source code of our economy and so much of our daily lives,” said Trevor Packer, College Board Head of the AP Program. “In the five years since we began the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award, it’s been heartening to see schools like Holy Angels welcome so many more young women into this vital field.”

AP Computer Science A students learn to design and implement computer programs that solve problems relevant to modern society. AP Computer Science A debuted in 1988, and female participation has increased 39% since 2017. Overall AP computer science course participation has increased 103% since 2017, broadening STEM career opportunities for more students. 

Providing female students with access to computer science courses is critical to ensuring gender parity in the industry’s high-paying jobs and to drive 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.

(Statistics in this article are courtesy of The College Board.)

Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious high school serves young women from many cultural and religious backgrounds. Many go on to study at some of the nation’s best universities, earning high-ranking positions in medicine, government, law, education, public service, business, arts, and athletics. The Academy’s current leaders continue to further the SSND mission to provide each student with the tools she needs to reach the fullness of her potential—spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically, by offering a first-rate education in a nurturing environment where equal importance is placed on academic excellence, character development, moral integrity, and service to others.