An eager group of Rome High School’s brightest minds gathered on the red carpet in anticipation of a special ceremony honoring their achievements on last year’s Advanced Placement (AP) exams.
The “High 5” AP Celebration Event recognized all students who scored a five on one or more AP exams, the highest score test takers can achieve.
During the celebration, students were presented with a special certificate, a High 5 medal to wear at graduation, a High 5 T-shirt, as well as refreshments and a photo-op on the red carpet with Rome High School Principal, Dr. Eric Holland.
Hanging high above the Rome High School red carpet are the students’ names and their accomplishments on stars representing each score—red stars recognize the students who scored a three on an AP exam, silver for the students who scored a four, and gold for these students who scored a five.
An impressive 195 students will receive college credit through Rome High’s AP program. 82 students received a three, 71 students received a four, and 42 students received a five.
Of the 195 students, three students received two fives and one student, Shriya Gard, received four fives. Gard will potentially receive six or seven college credits, excluding any other credits she has gained from previous years.
“These are college level classes, so students who earn fives can receive one or two college credits, depending on the school. When thinking about the benefits of taking AP tests, this is quite an achievement. To see 42 of our students to accomplish this is just amazing,” explained Amanda Howell, AP English educator at Rome High School.
Howell and team put together the AP celebration event to show students how proud they are of the hard work that goes into preparation for the exams.
“It takes a great amount of effort on behalf of the students; it’s a lot of hard work and dedication,” added Howell.
Dr. Suzanne Morse, assistant principal at Rome High School, agreed with Howell’s sentiments. “This is truly just a testament to how hard our teachers work, and just how hard our students work. It takes the commitment of everyone involved to achieve at this level,” she said.
Rome High School currently has 433 students enrolled in AP courses. 600-plus tests were administered in May 2021 to 269 students. 88 of those students received more than one credit because of their scores.
“Today is about everyone who took a grueling AP test and knocked it out of the park,” smiled Dr. Holland. “As parents, leaders and educators, our job is to provide support for all our students do. So today, as always, we just want our kids to know we appreciate them.”
He continued, “As we say every year, it is a total team effort. These students put in the time, and they do the work. We (educators) focus on supporting them however we can.”
“We just really wanted to make sure that in a moment like this, we take time out of our busy schedules to recognize their hard work,” Dr. Holland explained. “It’s not so much about scoring a five, but we want them to know their best efforts will always be celebrated here at Rome High School. Their efforts are most definitely worth rewarding.”
Go Wolves!
