Cathedral offers a wide variety of Advanced Placement courses, ranging from fine arts classes, such as AP Ceramics, to foreign language and core academic subjects, including AP Spanish and AP Biology. These rigorous, college-level courses challenge students academically while also allowing them to earn college credit and demonstrate their commitment to higher education.
The AP School Honor Roll includes schools that fall within very specific and intensive criteria. To qualify, schools need to display their commitment and focus on preparing students for AP coursework, as well as supporting them in their college preparation.
To be awarded this title, a school must have 80% of its seniors taking at least one AP Exam throughout their high school career, with 50% scoring a 3 or above on at least one of those AP exams. Cathedral, unlike many other schools, had 15% of its seniors taking 5 AP classes before graduating.
Cathedral Principal, Mark Matthews, said, “Mr. Blondi, who is our AP Coordinator, works really hard with our AP teachers to help them set up AP Classroom, make use of all the resources available, and encourage students to continue to stay engaged toward the end of the year when AP tests take place.”
Through receiving Platinum status, Cathedral is recognized as not only a school that offers AP classes, but also that its students are encouraged and supported as they challenge themselves academically.
Brett Blondi, Cathedral AP Coordinator, said, “We work with teachers, with Collegeboard, and we look at historical grades and junior high performance to create a plan where a student can be successful.” This process will help determine what level of support a student needs, which teachers will then begin to provide through office hours and other resources.
Teachers are also allowed to go and study at any of the AP institutions to learn more teaching strategies and familiarize themselves more with the topic, so that their students will be more capable of succeeding in the class.
Additional resources like the PSAT and NWEA provide data to counselors to show their AP potential and help them determine what classes are the best fit for that specific student. As students carry on with their AP classes, teachers are there working closely with them, guiding them to help them build confidence and let them know they are capable of achieving success in those classes.
Cathedral aims to keep up its outstanding AP success, allowing its students to access as many upper-level classes as they can, helping the overall graduation rate, and helping students earn as much college credit as they can before leaving the Hill. This honor signifies Cathedral’s commitment to academic excellence and its ability to prepare students successfully for college and future endeavors.
Matthews said, “Once you reach the pinnacle, the goal, you want to stay there and even improve.”
