Routt Recognized for Diversity in Computer Science

By Jeremy Coumbes on February 4, 2021 at 10:47am

Routt Catholic High School has earned a national award for diversity in the classroom.

Routt Catholic High School has earned the College Board AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science Principles.

Anna Terwische, a Junior at Routt, says the computer logic learned in the class applies to many other things not just related to computer programming.

We’ve learned different types of coding like Python and HTML. You can create websites and make them do different things. We’ve also started to use 3D printing, and we are working on printing a prosthetic hand for a guy from Missouri, so that’s been cool. We’ve been sending it back and forth making new versions of it to see what works best for him.”

Colleen Doyle Development and Enrollment Director says the class is only offered every other year at Routt. She says it’s a great review of what the world of computer science can look like.

They learn a lot about programming languages. They learn about building websites, being safe on the internet, learning about different carers you can have.

As a female who works here myself I’m just excited for these young women here at the school that can benefit from Mr. Link, Mr. Roscetti, and Mrs. Ptacek who have worked so hard to provide these opportunities for our young women.”

Senior Abigail Beddingfield says she proud that Routt was recognized with the award.

Honestly to me it feels good because is it specifically just about female participation. To me, it just feels really really good.”

College Board research about AP CSP is so encouraging. According to the data, female students who take AP CSP in high school are more than 5 times as likely to major in computer science in college, compared to similar female students who did not take CSP.

The study also finds AP CSP students are nearly twice as likely to enroll in AP CSA, and that for most students, AP CSP serves as a stepping-stone to other advanced AP STEM coursework.

Schools honored with the award have expanded girls’ access to AP Computer Science courses. Routt was one of 831 schools recognized in the category of AP Computer Science Principles.