Newton County School System (NCSS) is pleased to announce that Alcovy, Eastside and Newton high schools have all been named 2015 Advanced Placement Honor Schools by Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods. The 2015 Honor Schools are named in six categories, based on the results of the 2014 AP classes and exams. Those five categories are:

· AP CHALLENGE SCHOOL: Schools of 900 or fewer students testing in four of the core areas (English, math, science, and social studies)

· AP ACCESS & SUPPORT SCHOOLS: Schools with at least 30% of their AP exams taken by students who identified themselves as African-American and/or Hispanic and 30% of all AP exams earning scores of 3 or higher.

· AP MERIT SCHOOLS: Schools with at least 20% of the student population taking AP exams and at least 50% of all AP exams earning scores of three (3) or higher.

· AP STEM SCHOOLS: Schools with students testing in at least two (2) AP math courses and two (2) AP science courses (AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics B, AP Physics C, AP Computer Science)

· AP STEM ACHIEVEMENT SCHOOLS: Schools with students testing in at least 2 AP math courses and 2 AP science courses and at least 40% of the exam scores on AP math and AP science exams earning scores of three (3) or higher .

· AP Humanities Schools: Schools with student testing in all of the following AP courses: at least 1 ELA course, 2 social science courses, 1 fine arts course and 1 world language course.

All three NCSS high schools were named AP STEM Schools and AP Humanities Schools. In addition, Alcovy was named a 2015 AP Access and Support School and Eastside was named a 2015 AP STEM Achievement School.

“We are excited and proud of the AP designations,” said Eastside principal Jeff Cher, whose school was named an AP STEM School, an AP Humanities School, and an AP STEM Achievement School. “These distinctions are the results of sincere, intentional efforts by students and staff to maintain an academically challenging environment where students have the opportunity to reach their fullest potential.”

“I am extremely proud of Alcovy being recognized as an AP Honor School,” added Alcovy High School principal Dr. Sandra Owens. Her school was named an AP STEM School, an AP Humanities School, and an AP Access and Support School. “This is indicative of the hard work done by the teachers and students with the support of the parents and community. This is a remarkable achievement for the Alcovy and Newton County communities.”

“Newton County high schools have excelled academically on a variety of measures in the past few years, and their performance on Advanced Placement coursework is no exception,” said NCSS Deputy Superintendent Dr. Craig Lockhart. “Our high schools offer multiple rigorous courses of study that prepare our students for college and beyond. I congratulate school and district level administration, teachers, and students for their superior work.”

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 3, 4 or 5 on AP exams may receive college credit.