Page 13 - Leadership Matters March 2013 issue.pub

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AP Honor Roll award due to efforts of many
The mission of Olympia Community
Unit District 16 is to challenge each
student to achieve personal
success. One way the District is
striving to meet its mission is
through the vigorous Advanced
Placement program (AP). Recently,
Olympia High School was
recognized as an Advanced
Placement Honor Roll School. OHS
is one of 539 school districts in the
nation – and one of 22 in Illinois – to
be recognized this year by the
College Board with a place on its
third annual AP Honor Roll.
The Olympia Honor Roll award was based upon
examination of three years of AP data: 2010, 2011,
and 2012, data from all students who took AP
Examinations. According to Jennifer McDonnell,
Senior Director, K-12 Services for the College Board’s
Midwestern Regional Office, inclusion on the 3rd
Annual AP District Honor Roll is based on increase in
participation of AP examinations by at least 4 percent
in large districts, at least 6 percent in medium districts
and at least 11 percent in small districts along with
several other factors.
The dedication of our students, parents, AP
teachers and the academic departments in providing
rigorous coursework to a growing population of
students is commendable.
“Our teachers and students should be
commended for their willingness to accept this level of
personal challenge with regard to this rigorous level of
teaching and learning, which is comparable to a
college level curriculum,” said OHS Principal Dr. Lance
Thurman. “It’s important to note that AP courses at
OHS are consistently made available to students with
a wide range of ability, and that every student in the
AP curriculum is required to sit for the AP
examination.”
Mathematics Department Chair Sara Kleinschmidt
agreed.
“All of our AP teachers have high expectations for
students in the challenging AP curriculum. Olympia
students have worked diligently to meet the high AP
expectations which resulted in receiving this
distinguished award,” Kleinschmidt said. “Particularly
satisfying, and what separates Olympia from other
schools, is our inclusion of students of all ability levels
into our AP classes.”
Student response to the opportunity to enroll in the
Olympia AP program has been very positive. OHS
Senior Jarrod Nicholas recently shared that “Both AP
classes I am currently enrolled in, AP Literature
and AP Calculus, have surpassed my expectations.
My teachers push me not only to do my work, but
explore new concepts and think for myself. While it
would be great to achieve a high score on the tests in
May to earn some college credit, the true benefit of AP
classes is working with other students who aspire to go
beyond the traditional classroom."
The District is very pleased with the consistent and
ongoing efforts of our AP students and their teachers.
A highlight of this award is that it provides evidence of
increased access and increased rigor over time – three
full years.
It is highly encouraging to have AP teachers write
letters of recommendation and create pathways for
students to access these rigorous courses and be
successful, as opposed to promoting only a certain
profile of student in order to enhance the subject score
roster average. Creating an educational setting which
promotes equal access to academic rigor is helping to
fulfill the Olympia Mission.
By Brad K.
Hutchison
Superintendent
Olympia
Community Unit
District 16
3rd Annual AP District Honor Roll
Batavia District 101
Central School District 301
Community High School District 128
Community High School District 155
Community Unit School District 200
Diocese of Joliet
Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205
Geneva Community Unit School District 304
Huntley Consolidated School District 158
Indian Prairie School District 204
Kaneland Community Unit School District 302
Lake Park High School District 108
Leyden High School District 212
McLean County Unit District 5
Monticello Community Unit School District 25
Oak Lawn Community High School District 229
Olympia Community Unit School District 16
St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
Sycamore School District 427
Triad Community School Unit District 2
Valley View 365 Unified School District
Warren Township High School District 121