Education

Riverhead schools AP program honored by College Board

COURTESY PHOTO | AP Scholar Award recipients for the 2010-11 School Year. Front Row Seated: Matthew Mulvaney and Timothy Clement. Second row left to right: Annina Giannuzzi, Meyling Zuniga, Ashley Ropell, Mariah Messina, Amanda Gallo, Daugile Savaneviciute and Rachel Flannery. Third row left tor right: Assistant Principal Charles Regan, Andrew Geiger, John Rios, William Green, Brian Weinhardt and principal David Wicks. Top row left to right: Joshua Blom, Sandra Ruttkayova, and Dan Raynor.

The Riverhead School District was one of only nine Long Island school districts recently named to the College Board’s second annual AP District Honor Roll. The list recognizes schools which have “provided increased access to Advanced Placement coursework while also increasing the percentage of students who earn a score of three or above on AP exams,” according to a press release issued by the district.

The other Long Island districts were Commack, Copiague, Eastport-South Manor, Harborfields, Herricks, Levittown, Sayville and Syosset. Most colleges will grant college credit to high school students who earn at least a score of three on an AP exam.

In 2007, 140 students in Riverhead took 210 AP Exams and in 2011, 309 students took 548 exams. In that same time, students with scores of 3 or higher on an AP exam increased from 87 in 2007 to 146 in 2011.

To qualify for the honor, Riverhead schools had to have an increasing percentage minority students taking exams, a high percentage of students in 2011 who scored three or higher on an AP exam compared to those in 2009 or have more than 70 percent of its students earn a three or higher score and accomplish significant improvements in equality.

“We are very proud that the Riverhead School District has been named to the College Board’s AP Honor Roll,” said Riverhead superintendent Nancy Carney. “We applaud our faculty, administrators, and parents for encouraging students to take these rigorous courses that will better prepare them for college.”