According to research cited by the Advanced Placement Program, female students taking AP computer science courses are more likely to major in STEM fields in college than their peers. A visit to Oak Knoll’s Alumnae/i Profile Page supports that claim with graduates working in Artificial Intelligence, coding apps to empower females on college campuses, working on new solutions for applied physics, and closing the gap in understanding how bacteria defend themselves from attack.

Overall, Oak Knoll’s Upper School curriculum prepares our female students for the in-demand jobs of the future and allows them to help solve some of society’s most challenging problems.

As a testament to Oak Knoll’s commitment to STEM, Oak Knoll has once again received the AP® Computer Science Female Diversity Award. The College Board grants this award to schools for achieving high female representation in AP Computer Science A (CSA) and AP Computer Science Principles (CSP). According to the College Board, in 2023, Oak Knoll was one of only 68 schools in the nation recognized in this manner for improving gender representation in both AP computer science courses.

We congratulate our female AP computer science students and their teachers on advancing gender parity in computer science education. We’re honored that our school earned this distinction and look forward to seeing these young women and others pursue and achieve success in computer science education and careers.

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

The median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $100,530 in May 2022. However, women represent just 24% of the five million people in computing occupations. Increasing representation among females in the field is a particular passion of Oak Knoll Alumna Kelsey Schroeder Szot ’13,  who recently made Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ List in Entrepreneurial Technology. Read about her fantastic career trajectory here.

“Computer Science courses are the threshold to all sorts of innovation,” said Oak Knoll Computer Science Teacher Irida Ruci. “They give students the power to shape a future where technology empowers human progress and helps to transform ideas into real solutions.”

Oak Knoll is committed to ensuring that females in STEM increasingly shape that future.