57 students honored in 2014
In recognition of their scholastic achievements, 57 students at Windsor High School have earned AP Scholar Awards based on exams taken in May of 2014. This year, the number included 21 students who received AP Scholar with Distinction awards and 11 who received AP Scholar with Honor awards.
Around 20 percent of more than 2 million students who participate in AP Exams worldwide perform at a level sufficient to earn an AP Scholar Award, which requires that students earn an average score of three or higher on at least three AP exams.
The high school’s strong showing, according to Windsor High School counselor and AP coordinator Mindy Burgert, is indicative of the growing health of their AP program following recent lean years in the district.
“As the economy gets better and the district gets stronger financially, things are coming back,” she said. “When we went through difficult financial times we had to forgo some of the courses that we obviously support and would love to provide, but this year we were able to go for it.”
Due to the district’s growing financial health, Burgert said the high school has expanded its AP offerings for the new school year. Three courses have been added, including AP Psychology, which is new to Windsor High School, as well as AP Chemistry and AP Music Theory, which were removed for some years but have been reinstated.
The many benefits to participating in AP-level coursework, Burgert said, range from preparing students for college-level coursework to allowing them to jump-start their college education. Some students, she said, have been able to enter college at the sophomore level due to the units they amassed through taking AP classes.
Beyond that, according to Burgert, AP classes also provide rich and interesting material that proves engaging for students. “It represents not just the rigor, but also the maturity and sense of responsibility the students take on,” she said.
Among those who earned AP Scholar Awards were 15 students that were juniors at the time of testing and are currently seniors at Windsor High School, including: Leena Abdel-Rahim, Kaitlyn Christensen, Ciara Frowick, Jennifer Gamez-Rodriguez, Evie Klaasen, Laura Mendez, Sebastian Miller, John Quitangon, Angela Ramirez, Mikaela Rowe, Sean Scheiner, Jessica Silver, Laura Skarr, Alyssa White and Allison Young.
Jessica Silver was among those who qualified for the AP Scholar with Distinction Award for earning an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on five or more exams, while Laura Mendez and Laura Skarr qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor award for earning average scores of at least 3.25 on all AP exams taken, and scores of 3 or higher on four or more exams.
According to the students, engaging in AP-level classes provide benefits that range from acquiring college credit to support from academically driven peers and learning from teachers who are passionate about their respective subjects.
“It really prepares you for college,” said student Sean Scheiner. “Some of the past AP kids who have gone to college and come back and talked to us, they said it really prepared them, beyond what other classes would have.”
“If you look at the AP classes we’ve taken, all of the teachers have passion,” said student Leena Abdel-Rahim. “When you go to an AP class, the teachers, this is what they love to do – they love the students, they love the subject. So you just get more into it and honestly you get more out of it.”
