Home Education and Careers Award recognizes St. Elizabeth High School’s commitment to female involvement in computer...

Award recognizes St. Elizabeth High School’s commitment to female involvement in computer field

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Danielle Chapman (left) and Megan Chapman work in an advanced placement computer science class at St. Elizabeth High School. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

WILMINGTONSt. Elizabeth High School has been recognized by the College Board with its AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high representation in its advanced placement computer science principles class. Increasing the number of female students taking the class is a goal of the teacher, Ashley Kelly.

The award was for the 2020-21 school year. St. Elizabeth was one of 760 schools nationwide that received the recognition in this category.

Kelly came to St. Elizabeth two years ago to teach calculus and added the computer science classes last year. She said the AP classes are mostly seniors, but there are a few juniors sprinkled in. She is always on the lookout for girls who may do well in the class.

“Females in particular, I keep in the back of my mind,” she said. “A lot of the male students, I think are a lot more forthcoming with their interest in technology, but the females are still figuring out where they fit in this realm.”

Ariane Simbulan (left) and Louis Rizzo work together during an advanced placement computer science class at St. Elizabeth High School in Wilmington. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

Problem-solving and critical thinking are two skills that are necessary for the AP computer science principles class, Kelly said. The curriculum for the class, and the field in general, are not limited to topics such as coding and cybersecurity. She tries to let her students know that they also will have opportunities for careers in user interface and graphic design. The growth in the field seems to be never-ending, Kelly said.

“It’s important that they know how many opportunities are out there,” she said. “So many people think it’s such a narrow industry. It’s not all about coding.”

A lot of people see the technology industry as male-dominated, Kelly continued. It’s important for the girls to see role models, and at St. Elizabeth, the head of information technology is a woman. In a statement issued when the award was announced, a College Board executive lauded the job St. Elizabeth is doing.

“By encouraging young women to study advanced computer science coursework, St. Elizabeth is closing the gap in computer science education and empowering young women to access the opportunities available in STEM career fields,” said Stefanie Sanford, the board’s chief of global policy and external relations. “Computer science is the foundation of many 21st century career options, and young women deserve equal opportunities to pursue computer science education and drive technological innovation.”

St. Elizabeth offers some introductory courses in computer science before students move on to the advanced-placement classes. The AP class includes topics such as coding concepts, user interface, and processing data with loops and intervals.

“With each of those concepts, they get to create their own project. Each of the projects has specifications, but then they can do whatever they want,” Kelly said.

Ashley Kelly leads her advanced placement computer science programming class at St. Elizabeth, which includes Madelyn Thomas among its students. Dialog photo/Mike Lang

Developing an app is a significant part of the final grade. Students have created apps for games, sports and cereal nutrition. Another student developed one that helps people find female legislators in each state. They are able to share their work online, and some of their fellow students have asked if they could download the apps.

Kelly is an example to students looking to enter a STEM field (science, technology, engineering and math). She graduated from the University of Delaware with a degree in mathematical science, which required her to take three advanced computer science courses. She then went to work in New York City as a corporate analyst for a retail company. It was a lucrative career, but something was missing.

“I worked there for six years before I woke up one day and said, ‘This is not my passion. I’m sitting behind a desk. I don’t feel like I have an impact on this world. What do I really want to be doing?’” she said.

She completed the requirements to become a teacher and found St. Elizabeth, where she had the opportunity to teach calculus. When she mentioned that she liked computer science, she added some of those classes as well.

“I love it here,” she said.