Cherokee Schools Announces AP Capstone Graduates – NewsBreak

The Cherokee County School District is celebrating its latest class of AP Capstone Diploma honorees, including the first cohort from Woodstock High School.

Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone is a two-year project-based learning program designed to help students develop critical thinking, research, collaboration and presentation skills that are crucial to college and career success.

The premier program, which was developed by The College Board in partnership with colleges and universities, is offered in select high schools nationwide. The program now is offered at Cherokee High School, Etowah High School, River Ridge High School, Sequoyah High School, and Woodstock High School, with Cherokee to graduate its first class this school year.

Only about 15,000 students nationwide earn the AP Capstone Diploma annually. Instead of a single end-of-year exam, the interdisciplinary AP Seminar and AP Research courses assess students’ knowledge mastery through group projects, presentations and individual essays throughout the year.

To earn the AP Capstone Diploma, students must achieve scores of 3 or higher in both AP Seminar and AP Research courses as well as on at least four AP course exams. Students who achieve scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research, but not on four course exams, earn the AP Seminar and Research Capstone Certificate.

Students who achieve a 3 or higher (on a scale of 1 to 5) on an AP exam can qualify for college credit at most state colleges and universities, thereby avoiding college tuition payments for those classes.

Districtwide, 99% of the 163 CCSD students participating in the AP Seminar course last school year earned a passing score of 3 or higher, with a 3.7 average; 92% of the 110 students participating in the AP Research course earned a passing score of 3 or higher, with a 3.2 average.

The district reports its pass rate held steady despite a significant increase in participation over the previous year, when 59 students participated in AP Research and 136 in AP Seminar.

CCSD’s 2024 AP Capstone Diploma Honorees:

ETOWAH HIGH SCHOOL

Jonathan Acree

Jazlynn Bailey

Walker Baird

Parker Bishop

Olivia Bryan

Megan Busbee

Davis Clanton

Sydney Daniel

Logan Derenthal

Madison Dodd

Samantha Durst

Cristina Garcia

Grace Hedlund

Lisa Howe

Jack Kennard

Connor Lawlor

Jessica Lawlor

Kendall Lee

Elizabeth Lin

Charlotte Luina

Madeline May

Audrey Miller

Vanosha Moghaddasi

Temilola Oloruntoba

Mikayla Parks

Connor Pearson

Katherine Piroumian

Isabella Postel

Anvita Rautray

Shelby Rice

Bella Ruddock

Katie Shay

Dominic Slovisky

Lena Truan

Hailey Weiner

Naomi Williamson

Lydia Wooley

AP Research and Seminar teachers: John Murnan and Donell Osborne

RIVER RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

Brianna Burke

Sallie Cobb

Giselle Kurtz

Hannah Mayfield

Samantha Mize

Hadley Moore

Stevie O’Connell

Emery Polk

Connor Schmitt

Amelie Vogel

AP Research and Seminar teachers: Leigh Becigneul, Mary Bisgrove, Tracye Bulger (2023-24), Ryan Strasser

SEQUOYAH HIGH SCHOOL

Colin Campbell

Hailey Collett

Sayler Davies

Peyton Fremin

Kaitlyn Hartman

Zachary Howell

Brooke Jacomine

Cayla Johnson

Jake Koster

Lilah Lathbury

Andrew Latimer

Claire Mathis

William Murphy

Jaxon Nesbitt

Sunny Nguyen

Anna Louise Panhorst

Alice Pelton

Jared Perry

Madison Rajecki

Jennifer Ramos- Hernandez

Stephanie P. Rios

Kristen Robinson

Kelsie Rohland

Nevaeh Roth

Asby Rowson

Olivia Sneed

Lauren Strommen

Parker Thran

Olivia Tomeny

Cameron Williams

AP Research and Seminar teachers: Dr. Cathy Murphy and Paul Peacock

WOODSTOCK HIGH SCHOOL

Danika Beaton

Stella Canty

Corrine Coffee

Taylor King

Avery Kmoch

Ariana Maniatis

Eowyn Ordones

Dalton Shakar

Kaden Walls

AP Research and Seminar teachers: Sarah Brennan and Johanna Marcusky

Congratulations to CCSD’s 2024 AP Capstone Certificate Recipients:

ETOWAH HIGH SCHOOL

Sydney Allen

Stavroula Angelakos

Carson Carter

Christopher Jalbert

Lillian Schwartz

Anna Truan

Jayla Turner

RIVER RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

Anna Rose

SEQUOYAH HIGH SCHOOL

Ella McClure

Jessica Ryan

Addy Sandt

Reece Sisson

Lauren Trujillo

Courtney Woodall

Jake Young