All four county high schools earn AP honors

Media release: Armuchee High, Coosa High, Model High and Pepperell High were among a select group of high schools in the state to receive AP honors today in a release from the Georgia Department of Education and the College Board. The four Floyd County high schools were honored as AP Challenge Schools while Pepperell High also made the honors list for AP STEM Schools. Advanced Placement (AP) classes and exams are administered by the College Board, which also administers the SAT. AP classes offer rigorous college-level learning options to students in high school. Students who receive a score of 3, 4 or 5 on AP exams may receive college credit.

The AP Challenge honor is given to schools with 900 or fewer students that have students testing in the four core areas of English, math, social studies and science. The AP STEM Schools designation is given to schools with students testing in at least two (2) AP math courses and two (2) AP science courses. Information for the award was based on data from the 2011-2012 school year.

Floyd County high schools have been regular honorees in the AP awards for the last several years because Floyd County high schools are offering the challenging, advanced academic course work necessary to allow graduates to succeed in college. Floyd County has made the commitment to be a leader in Advanced Placement courses offered to students. The move to a more extensive offering of advanced courses for students in Floyd County Schools began with the introduction of the Honors College Prep Program in the fall of 2002. This advanced program of study for students in Floyd County Schools is among the top college preparatory programs in Northwest Georgia. The comprehensive, rigorous, advanced program of study is designed to prepare students for the most demanding college or university. Honors College Prep is available at all four Floyd County high schools. The expansion of Advanced Placement class offerings was a major component in raising the level of academic opportunities available to students in Floyd County. "Offering these advanced classes is not always easy in small community schools such as ours, but we feel it is necessary to the success of our graduates," stated David Johnson, chairman of the Floyd County Board of Education. "Our board has made a commitment to provide the very best educational opportunities for our children."

The state of Georgia has undertaken many efforts to increase participation in AP programs in recent years to increase the rigor in courses available to students across the state. One initiative is the AP Challenge recognition for schools making the commitment to provide the advanced courses for students.  "The focus in our schools is helping students reach the goal of graduation and giving our graduates the skills needed to be successful after high school," said Dr. Jeff McDaniel, superintendent of Floyd County Schools. "We offer the very best advanced academic courses while maintaining the personal attention of small community high schools."