March is Women’s History Month. A teacher and students at Spruce Mountain High School are making a difference currently that could have lasting impacts for women in the future. This is the first in a series about those individuals.

JAY — Kymberly Bryant and Spruce Mountain High School recently received a national award but it might never have happened if not for her involvement with the school’s former robotics team.

“My work with mentoring the Robotics team is actually what led me to teach Computer Science,” she wrote in a recent email. “A mother of robotics students saw that Project Login was offering to teach interested teachers how to teach computer science, and she saw the need for a female teacher, and not necessarily a science or math teacher, to take on that role.

“She thought maybe it could convince some female students that they could be successful in computer science even though they may not see themselves as STEM (science,  technology, engineering and mathematics) students,” Bryant noted. “If it hadn’t been for her suggestion, I would have never had the opportunity to teach the classes I teach now.”

Bryant taught English for 25 years, but has always been very passionate about technology and computers. She has a masters degree in technology and curriculum but never intended to solely teach computer science.

Bryant worked with SMART — the school’s former robotics team, has directed theater productions and organized lip sync competitions as part of one of her classes.

In 2015, she was recognized by PBS LearningMedia as one of its 30 Lead Digital Innovators. She received an all-expense-paid trip to Philadelphia to participate in the 2015 PBS LearningMedia Digital Summit and the International Society for Technology in Education conference.

In 2019, Bryant did the videotaping for a middle school student project deemed the best in Maine. In 2020 she was part of the formation of a district-wide Equity Committee.

“I just thought I would always just work technology into the classes I was already teaching, like our Hands on History class and communications classes,” she wrote.

Bryant has other things in the works to encourage girls and others to get involved with computers.

“This school year, I started a chapter of Girls Who Code at the middle/high school level for girls and female-identifying students,” she wrote. “I have a very small but fun group of girls and we hope to increase our numbers over the years.

“One issue with after school groups is that I am competing with other great after school activities for time,” she noted. “Many of the girls who are interested in Girls Who Code are also involved in other opportunities. Hopefully in the future we can carve out some time that works for everyone.”

Next year Bryant will be offering some fun electives in programming and hopes to engage some girls within those classes too.

“As more and more girls take the classes, participate in robotics or Girls Who Code and share their success with their friends, I hope that more girls will participate in those activities,” she wrote. “I do find it encouraging that we currently have only two students who are participating in robotics with the Mt. Blue Robotics team, and they are both girls.”

The College Board’s 2021 AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award in AP Computer Science Principles was presented to 760 schools nationally. Spruce was the only Maine school recognized.

“The award is based on the number of female students, percentage wise, who took the AP Computer Science class and subsequent AP test last school year,” Bryant wrote.

Until this year, Bryant was an English teacher who also taught one computer class. She now teaches a variety of technology classes with no time in her schedule for computer classes. Before the change, there were 18 students signed up for AP Computer Science Principles — about double the usual number.

“Next year, I intend to include more computer science and programming courses to my offerings, picking AP Computer Science Principles back up as well as adding an app design and programming course and an introduction to gaming class,” Bryant wrote. “Mark Ostroff, a math teacher at the high school, also teaches programming classes and will be offering the AP Computer Science A class which is a continuation of the Computer Science Principles course.

“The curriculums that Mark and I use are from Code.org,” she noted. “They are amazing and robust curriculums that were designed to be inclusive of all students.”

Bryant also works for CODE.org and Maine’s Project Login teaching workshops to teachers on how to implement the curriculums into classrooms and schools.

“Our focus in those workshops is promoting these classes to students who might not think that they could succeed in an AP course or programming course and teaching to students with all levels of computer knowledge,” she wrote.

“Studying computer science can open doors for students, giving them the tools to excel, and setting them up for high-paying careers, but girls have been left behind for far too long,” according to the College Board AP website. “That’s why College Board is honoring schools for expanding young women’s access to AP computer science classes and for the important steps they’re taking to reach gender parity. Schools receiving the AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award have achieved either 50% or higher female exam taker representation in one of or both AP computer science courses, or a percentage of female computer science exam takers that meets or exceeds that of the school’s female population.”

“There are very few schools in the state that have received [the award] since it started in 2018,” Bryant wrote. “The award is based on the number of female students, percentage wise, who took the AP Computer Science class and subsequent AP test last school year.

“I have been working for three years to build numbers for the class and to include more young women, students with disabilities, LGBTQ students and students with learning disabilities into this class,” Bryant noted. “This is truly a class where anyone can learn computer science and programming.”

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