Nine campuses in Orange County were honored by the College Board for their work toward equal gender representation by engaging more female students in computer science.
Magnolia High School and Oxford Academy in the Anaheim Union High School District, Yorba Linda High School in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District, Huntington Beach High School in the Huntington Beach Union High School District, Troy High School in the Fullerton Union High School District, Villa Park High School in the Orange Unified School District were recognized with the 2023 AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award on Jan. 18, along with the Orange County School of the Arts, and Calvary Chapel and Orange Lutheran high schools.
Since 2016, the College Board has honored schools that have reached 50 percent or higher female examinee representation in one or both AP computer science courses. A total of 1,127 schools are being recognized for their work during the 2022-23 school year.
These institutions represent a broad range of high schools from across the country and around the world. They include private, public and charter schools, large and small student bodies, rural and urban populations, and specialized high schools, along with generalized programs.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for computer and information technology occupations was $100,530 in May 2022, more than double the annual salary for all occupations, which was $46,310. The bureau expects job opportunities in this field to continue to grow significantly faster than average between 2022 and 2032, with an average annual projection of 377,500 openings, driven by employment growth and the need to replace workers leaving the industry.
The College Board commended the schools for diversifying computer science education and for preparing female students for the high-paying, in-demand jobs of the future.
See the full list of schools that have been recognized for the 2023 AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award.