HWRSD among 46 Massachusetts districts on AP honor roll

Date: 11/26/2012

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

WILBRAHAM — The Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School District and Minnechaug Regional High School (HWRSD) were recently honored as one of 46 Massachusetts public school systems on the 2012 Advanced Placement (AP) District Honor Roll.

"It's a big honor because I think it recognizes the dedication of the high school and the district to continually offering a course load that exceeds the rigor of a normal curriculum," Timothy Connor, HWRSD director of Curriculum and Instruction, told Reminder Publications.

The AP programs, which are conducted through College Board, allow students to take college-level courses in high school that help students stand out in their college applications and earn college credit with high scores.

AP courses, 34 in all, range from language and culture classes to mathematics to history.

Minnechaug currently offers 16 AP courses, Connor said.

In order for medium-sized districts such as HWRSD to qualify for the honor roll, access to AP courses must have increased by six percent, participation among minority students must not have decreased by more than 5 percent and the percentage of students earning a grade of 3 or better on a scale of 1 to 5 must have stayed the same or increased over a three-year period, he explained.

According to a press release from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Nov. 13, 539 districts in the United States and Canada were recognized for their efforts to augment the number of AP offerings and student success in those classes and on those exams.

HWRSD was one of six Pioneer Valley school districts on the list, along with the Amherst Regional, Franklin, South Hadley, Southwick-Tolland-Granville Regional and Westfield public school districts and Massachusetts had the highest number of honor roll districts among the 44 participating states.

"I congratulate these school districts for their efforts to expand access to high quality educational programs for our students," Mitchell Chester, Elementary and Secondary Education commissioner, said. "In Massachusetts, we are encouraging our schools to upgrade their program of study so that all students are ready for success beyond high school. The Commonwealth's status of being the state with the most honor roll awardees is evidence of progress toward this goal."