Cedar Shoals High to Receive $25K to Add 6 AP Courses

Submitted by Clarke County School District

Cedar Shoals High School is one of 230 schools across the country invited to participate in the Advanced Placement (AP) Opportunity Program. Cedar Shoals will receive $25,300 to add six AP courses, made possible from a $1.2 million AP grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. 

“I am excited and elated for our students to have additional opportunities to take Advanced Placement classes,” said Principal Tony Price. “We already have a successful and robust AP Program, but this just adds even more opportunities for our students to benefit from our strong curriculum,” said Principal Tony Price. 

The courses to be added in fall 2014 are:

• AP Physics 1 and 2
• AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnesium
• AP Physics C: Mechanics
• AP Calculus BC
• AP Microeconomics 

Cedar Shoals was chosen because of the number of students who were academically prepared for an AP STEM course not currently offered at the school. For this criterion, “high AP potential” is defined as a 60% or higher likelihood of scoring a 3, 4 or 5 on an AP Exam as predicted by the student’s performance on specific sections of the PSAT/NMSQT® (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). The goal of the program is also to expand access, and Cedar Shoals meets the criteria as a Title I School. 

Notably, Cedar Shoals was recently named an AP Honor School by the Georgia Department of Education as an AP Access and Support School, AP STEM School and AP STEM Achievement School. 

“I commend Cedar Shoals teachers, students, parents and administrators for being tapped to significantly expand its AP offerings – because it’s clear that our students can and will achieve in these rigorous courses,” said Superintendent Philip D. Lanoue. “An extensive AP catalogue is one of the many ways we ensure our students have an edge in college and career.” 

The AP Opportunity Program funding will be used by teachers for professional development and to acquire classroom materials, college-level textbooks, lab and technology equipment, and other resources necessary for a high-quality AP course. Classroom resource funds vary from $1,200 to $9,000, depending on the subject area of the new course. A third partner in the AP Opportunity initiative, DonorsChoose.org, will serve as a platform for teachers to request classroom supplies and resources.

With 21 schools and over 12,000 students, the Clarke County School District offers students both diversity and a culture of academic excellence. The district was recognized as Georgia’s top school district for closing the achievement gap as a Title I Distinguished District. For more information, visit http://clarke.k12.ga.us.