School District Named a 2011-2012 AP® Achievement District

Sun Prairie High School AP teachers and counselor Yolanda Smith-Charlestin (2nd from right)
who coordinates the AP program for SPHS.

During a staff meeting at the high school on Tuesday morning, November 1, Tim Culver made the surprise announcement to faculty and staff that the school district had received the prestigious award of being named a 2011-2012 AP® Achievement District -- one of only 367 school districts in the U.S. and Canada to be named to the honor roll.

Dr. Culver praised the work of all of the teachers who help students achieve the level of rigor that Advanced Placement classes require.  The 2nd Annual AP® Honor Roll recognizes districts for simultaneously increasing access to Advanced Placement coursework while maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP exams.  Achieving both of these goals is the ideal scenario for a district’s Advanced Placement program because it indicates that the district is successfully identifying motivated, academically-prepared students who are likely to benefit most from AP coursework.

                                                         Photos from the faculty meeting are in the slideshow below.

Since 2009, the Sun Prairie Area School District increased the number of students participating in AP from 256 to 380 while maintaining the percentage of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. The majority of U.S. colleges and universities grant college credit or advanced placement for a score of 3 or above on AP exams.
 
The following Advanced Placement® classes are offered at Sun Prairie High School:  Art Studio, Art History, Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Comparative Government Politics, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, European History, French Language, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, Physics C: Mechanics, Psychology, Spanish Language, Statistics, U.S. Government & Politics, and U.S. History.

Dr. Culver is very proud of the work of the district and the students.  “This is an amazing honor,” said Culver.  “The increase in the number of students taking these rigorous classes is so encouraging.  And, the majority of these students are taking more than one AP class each year,” Culver added.  “In 2011, the 380 students who took AP classes took a total of 743 AP exams, so it’s clear many of them had at least two AP level courses.  That’s very impressive!”
 
The 2nd Annual AP Honor Roll is made up of only those public school districts that are simultaneously expanding opportunity and improving performance.
 
 “Participation in college-level AP courses can level the playing field for underserved students, give them the confidence needed to succeed in college, and raise standards and performance in key subjects like science and math,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “The AP Honor Roll districts are defying expectations by expanding access while enabling their students to maintain or improve their AP Exam scores.”
 
“This school district has achieved something very remarkable. It managed to open the doors of its AP classrooms to many more students, while also increasing the percentage of students earning high enough AP Exam grades to stand out in the competitive college admission process and qualify for college credit and placement,” said Trevor Packer, the College Board’s senior vice president of Advanced Placement and college readiness.
 
The complete 2nd Annual AP District Honor Roll can be found at http://media.collegeboard.com/content/pdf/AP_2nd_Annual_Honor_Roll.pdf.
 
About the Advanced Placement Program
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Through more than 30 college-level courses, each culminating in a rigorous exam, AP provides willing and academically prepared students with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement or both. Taking AP courses also demonstrates to college admission officers that students have sought the most rigorous curriculum available to them. Each AP teacher’s syllabus is evaluated and approved by college faculty from some of the nation’s leading institutions, and AP Exams are developed and scored by college faculty and experienced AP teachers. AP is accepted by more than 3,800 colleges and universities worldwide for college credit, advanced placement or both on the basis of successful AP Exam scores. This includes over 90 percent of four-year institutions in the United States. In 2010, 1.8 million students representing more than 17,000 schools around the world, both public and nonpublic, took 3.2 million AP Exams.

About the College Board
The College Board is a mission-driven not-for-profit organization that connects students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board was created to expand access to higher education. Today, the membership association is made up of more than 5,900 of the world’s leading educational institutions and is dedicated to promoting excellence and equity in education. Each year, the College Board helps more than seven million students prepare for a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success — including the SAT® and the Advanced Placement Program®. The organization also serves the education community through research and advocacy on behalf of students, educators and schools. For further information, visit www.collegeboard.org.

 

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