2021 -- S 0566

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LC002392

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

CONGRATULATING ST. MARY ACADEMY-BAY VIEW FOR BEING AWARDED TWO

AP COMPUTER SCIENCE FEMALE DIVERSITY AWARDS

     Introduced By: Senators Lawson, and Coyne

     Date Introduced: March 09, 2021

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, For the third year in a row, St. Mary Academy-Bay View has earned two

College AP Computer Science Female Diversity Awards for having high female representation in

AP Computer Science A (CSA) and AP Computer Science Principles (CSP) courses; and

     WHEREAS, This prestigious accomplishment would have been impossible without the

enormous contributions made by Bay View faculty members Valerie Briden, Chair of the

Computer Science Department, Antonelia Lombardi, Chair of the Mathematics Department, and

Colleen Gribbin, Upper School Principal. Thanks to their tireless efforts, leadership, and

innovative approaches to teaching, Bay View was one of only fifty-six schools out of 20,000

institutions to be recognized for closing the gap in both AP computer science courses; and

     WHEREAS, Providing greater access to computer science courses for young women is a

vital component to eliminating various gender gaps in our society. According to the United States

Bureau of Labor Statistics in a 2017 report, the median annual wage for computer and

information technology occupations is $88,240, yet women only represented just twenty-four

percent of the five million people in computer occupations; and

     WHEREAS, Thanks to St. Mary Academy-Bay View and talented education

professionals like Valerie Briden and Antonelia Lombardi, progress is being made but more

change is still necessary. Perhaps Stefanie Sanford, College Board Chief of Global Policy and

External Relations summed things up best when she stated “Young women deserve an equal

opportunity to become the next generation of entrepreneurs, engineers and tech leaders. Closing

the gap in computer science education empowers young women to build the future they want.”

One place where young women are currently receiving these important opportunities is at St.

Mary Academy-Bay View; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby congratulates St. Mary

Academy-Bay View for being awarded two AP Computer Science Female Diversity Awards; and

be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to Colleen Gribbin, Upper School Principal,

Valerie Briden, Chair of the Computer Science Department, and Antonelia Lombardi, Chair of

the Mathematics Department, St. Mary Academy-Bay View.

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