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Show News Fioi Park City Schools AP Classes Wei^fh In Outside the main entrance to Park City High School is a sign boasting that Newsweek called it "One of the top 200 high schools in America." What earned Park City that feather in its academic cap is the school's highly successful Advanced Placement, or AP, program. Students go through a rigorous year of study, which culminates in a big, daylong test. Those who pass get as many as eight hours worth of college credit. "We're looking for a program that prepares students for college. This is the one that does it," said John Krenkel, who teaches AP history classes at the high school. Last year, 400 Park City students took more than 650 AP tests. That's about one-third of the student population, and 70 percent of tests taken resulted in a passing grade. The national pass rate is 63 percent, according to the AP website apcentral.collegeboard.com. The same website recently reported that Utah ranks No. 3 in the nation for AP success. "Our AP teachers are very competitive, which is a good thing," said Principal Hal Smith. 'They want to do well by their students. Their plans are all dominated by that thought." To reward students for taking AP classes, Park City High School 'weights' AP grades favorably, Krenkel said. A quarter in an AP class adds 0.0125 to a student's total CPA, so taking four AP classes in a year increases a 3.9 GPA to a 4.1. High school officials decided to weight the AP classes so that students' GPAs would reflect the rigorous classes they take. Otherwise, students taking easy classes have better grades and the school could have "a PE major be your valedictorian," Krenkel said. Students should determine how colleges will recognize their AP credit ahead of time. Some schools are becoming stricter, giving credit only for scores of four or five on the five-point scale, Krenkel said. It's also important to check with specific departments. In many college English departments, the AP English credit is useless. However, at many schools, such as the University of Utah, AP English fulfills the undergraduate writing requirement. Parley Park Elementary Students Trekking Across The USA Jen Wheelwright is going the extra mile. In a push to get kids more excited •about walking, the Parley's Park PE 4*-, v * : teacher bought 30 pedometers - thanks to a Park City Education Foundation grant - which students will wear to track the number of steps they take. Adding that up, Wheelwright will track each class on an imaginary journey across the United States. All grades have 'started' in San Diego and track their progress to a different destination in the United States. For example, kindergartners and firstgraders are walking to Disney World: "It's going great/' Wheelwright said. "They love the pedometers. They love them,, they think they're so fun." Some children have actually gone and purchased their own pedometers - for about $3 at Wal-Mart - that they wear all day. An emphasis on walking has a number of great benefits, according to Wheelwright. Walking is a good, basic form of exercise, which many kids don't realize, thinking you have to sweat before it 'counts' as exercise. Wheelwright hopes to motivate kids to: . take the stairs instead of elevators . walk to school . find other ways to add.a few steps to their daily routine "I think every kid can be successful with walking," Wheelwright said. "Sometimes when there's a lot of athletic kids around and" you happen to be the one who's not coordinated, you can get down on yourself." Wheelwright also holds extra walking time from 7:30 to 7:50 a.m. every day before school starts at Parley's at 8:05. Each day corresponds to different grades, and will be added to each classes' walking total. Science Fair Inspiration on the Web Many elementary schools host science fairs during the month of March. Park City School District Elementary Science Specialist, Meri-Lyn Stark suggests logging on to www.all-sciencefair-proiects.com or homeworkspot.com/sciencefair for ere- " ative science project ideas. Encourage students to investigate something that interests them, whether it's experimenting with the effect classical music has on the growth of a seed or learning how to make your own sundial. Education News is compiled by Park Record Education Editor Jared Whitley Park City Parent Winter/Spring 2005 |