Nine current Hays High seniors received Advanced Placement recognition for their showing in the 2010-2011 school year. Celebratng the honors include (front row, left to right) Annalily Lopez, Emily Crowell-Stevens, Jennifer Putman, Emily Dotterer, Carly Bell, Victoria Volker, (back row, left to right) Academic Dean Teri Eubank, Principal David Pierce, Steven Claggett, Stephen Luna, Madeline Whisenant and Lead Counselor Kathy Arendt. (Photo by Jim Cullen)
by JIM CULLEN
Forty-eight Hays and Lehman high school students have been recognized by the College Board for their 2010-2011 test scores in Advanced Placement (AP) classes. Thirteen of the 48 are current Hays or Lehman seniors who achieved the recognition as they completed their junior year.
Every year the new school year’s continuing banquet of high school student recognition kicks off with the College Board’s AP honors, a celebration of achievement completed as the previous year ended.
Highest among all of those honored this year was 2011 Hays High School graduate Katherine (Chaney) Turney, who earned National AP Scholar honors for receiving an average score of 4 (the test’s mark of excellence) on all AP exams and a 4 or higher on eight or more of these exams. Turney stood as the district’s top AP scholar in her class in 2010, having achieved AP Scholar With Distinction honors as a junior.
Of this year’s honored returning seniors, nine are Hays High School students and four are at Lehman High School. Three of the nine seniors earned Scholar With Distinction recognition for receiving an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams and 3 or higher on five or more of these exams. Lehman’s Valentin Noguez and Madeleine Hewitt took that honor, as did Hays High School’s Emily Dotterer.
At the next highest level, Hays senior Jennifer Putman received AP Scholar With Honor status, having achieved an average score of at least 3.25 on all AP exams and a 3 or higher on four or more of these exams.
AP Scholar honors – for scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams – went to current Lehman seniors Kody Banda and Michelle Williamson and Hays seniors Carly Bell, Steven Claggett, Emily Crowell-Stevens, Annalily Lopez, Stephen Luna, Victoria Volker and Madeline Whisenant.
As is the nature of the honors, the bulk of recognition goes to the just-graduated class, those with the most cumulative opportunities to take the advanced placement tests. The 2011 Hays High School class placed eight more of its best on the Scholar With Distinction level, those graduates including Gabriela Buentello, Erin Korzeniewski, Theodore Parakeva, Patricia Swanson, Hannah Thompson, and Katherine Turney. Lehman’s 2011 graduates at that level included James Vera, Amanda Markert, Cameron Harris and Sean Kypke.
At the AP Scholar With Honor level, Hays High’s graduating class placed Caleb Ruckel, Brooke Noble, Taylor Kornfuehrer, Minerva Hernandez, Michael Ebbinghaus and Kirsten Bjornson. Lehman’s AP Scholar With Honor placers in its graduating class included Catherine Rose, David Negrete, Christina Wait and Katherine Rush.
Fourteen more district students from the Class of 2011 received AP Scholar recognition, including Hays High graduates Jordan Hall, Angela Hoffmeyer, Nathaniel Webber, Stephen Wenzel, William Poeppelmeyer, Steven Partin, Cassia Norris, Diana Medlock, Marissa McCann, Cassandra Lomeli, Christina Heinrich and Ely Allen. Lehman graduates Vanessa Hernandez and Brittany House also reached AP Scholar status.
Reaction from their two campuses is predictably positive. Hays High School Principal David Pierce says, “We are very proud of our Advanced Placement scholars. These students have done a tremendous job of meeting the high expectations that Hays High School sets for them. Their families should be proud of them and their efforts.”
Lehman High School Principal Don Ruisinger says, “Our goal is that one hundred percent of our students graduate ‘College and Career Ready’ and these students are leading the way. They are our shining stars and we are incredibly proud of them.”
In a related development, the Hays CISD Board of Trustees has approved funding to cover the cost of taking the AP exams for every student who enrolls and successfully completes an AP course. Dr. Kimbroly Pool, the district’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction says, “It is exciting to be able to provide this service to our students and community, helping students toward the college credit that comes with successful scores.” Pool adds that the policy will “maximize our district’s investment in AP courses” and – even for those not testing high enough for college credit – a valuable experience for those going on to take college courses, certification exams, or other types of high stakes assessments.”
