SANFORD, NC - Last week during the Board of Education meeting, Lee County Schools recognized 12 students who demonstrated excellence in Advanced Placement (AP) Courses and Exams last year. Students were recognized in one of three categories, AP Scholar, AP Scholar with Honor, and AP Scholar with Distinction. An additional four students are receiving prestigious International Baccalaureate Diplomas for their work over the last four years.
Dr. Natalie Kelly, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum & Instruction noted, “One of our top priorities is raising academic performance for all students across the district, and we are so proud of these twelve AP scholars and four International Baccalaureate graduates for their dedication to achieving excellence as Lee County Schools students. They are to be commended for their drive for knowledge and academic success, serving as a testament to what our students can accomplish when given the support and environment to thrive."
AP Courses are rigorous, college-level courses, and they are often student’s first exposure to the type of advanced academic work that is required at the university level. Each May, students in AP courses take the internationally-recognized AP Exam, and students earning scores of 3, 4, or 5 are guaranteed college credit for their course at any public community college, college or university in North Carolina.
Students achieving the AP Scholar Award receive scores of three or higher on three or more AP Exams. In the district last year, seven students achieved this recognition: Paxton Davis, Timothy Flowers, Julia Heifert, Kendall Brewer, Anna Glasson, and Jack Martin all from Lee County High School in addition to Gina DeCerbo from Southern Lee High.
Still four other students from LCS were tapped for the AP Scholar with Honor designation which is reserved for students who have received scores of three or higher on four or more AP Exams with an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken. The four students were all from Lee County High School with Abigail Cagle, Gillian Garrison, Megan Hunter, and Kara Savage all earning the recognition.
Finally, there was one student in the district who achieved AP Scholar with Distinction. Caroline Cummings from Southern Lee High was the only student in LCS to earn this level of award, reserved for students who achieve scores of three or higher on five AP Exams and have an average score of 3.5 on all AP Exams taken.
The district also recognized four individuals from the International Baccalaureate program at Lee County High School who qualified for the globally-recognized diploma. Gillian Garrison, Ryan Gregory, Lisette Vasquez, and Samuel Benton all completed the rigorous requirements to earn the IB Diploma.
To earn an IB Diploma, students must take at least one IB course across five disciplines including Language and Literature, Language Acquisition, Individuals and Societies, Sciences, and Mathematics. They also must complete the gateway course, Theory of Knowledge. Further, students must complete an extended essay and in-depth research project, complete a creativity activity and service project, while earning at least 24 points from their exams which car scored from 1 to 7.