Fairview High to Participate in AP Capstone Program

4:16 am | Saturday, Dec 31st
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From WCS.edu…

Beginning next fall, Fairview High School will become one of approximately 1,000 schools worldwide to implement the AP Capstone Program.

AP Capstone is an innovative diploma program that allows students to develop research, collaboration and communication skills by taking two courses in sequence: AP Seminar and AP Research.

Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on AP Seminar and AP Research assessments and on four additional AP exams will earn the AP Capstone Diploma. This signifies their outstanding academic achievement and attainment of college-level academic and research skills. Students who earn scores of 3 or higher on both AP Seminar and AP Research assessments only will earn the AP Seminar and Research Certificate.

Fairview High will be the only Williamson County high school to offer the program.

“This innovative program gets a broader, more diverse student population ready for college and beyond,” said Fairview High Principal Dr. Juli Oyer. “The program gives our teachers more leeway with curriculum choices so their students can access more challenging coursework and sharpen their reading and writing skills.”

The AP Seminar course, typically taken in tenth or eleventh grade, equips students with the ability to look at real-world issues from multiple perspectives. Students will be required to tackle complex questions; understand and evaluate opposing viewpoints; interpret and synthesize information; and construct, communicate and defend evidence-based arguments.

In the AP Research course, students design, plan and conduct a yearlong research-based investigation on a topic of individual interest, documenting their process with a portfolio. Students build on skills developed in the AP Seminar course by learning how to understand research methodology; employ ethical research practices; and collect, analyze and synthesize information to build, present and defend an argument.

“I commend Dr. Oyer and her team for pursuing this challenging coursework for the Fairview students,” said Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Dr. Charles Farmer. “I believe this coursework will continue to provide opportunities for our students to be more prepared for and more successful in their readiness for college and career options.”

Fairview High School will start AP Seminar in the fall of 2017.

Drive Away Hunger Winners Named

2:15 am | Wednesday, Dec 30th
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The results are in from the 4th Annual Drive Away Hunger Challenge! Franklin High School won the prize for highest total number of pounds and Fairview High School won the award the most pounds of food per student.

Between the nine high schools, thousands of students participated by collecting 23,670 pounds of food for the pantry at GraceWorks. Over the past four years, the drive has collected over 100,000 pounds of food, all which has been used to support the efforts of GraceWorks.

“It has been a privilege for our schools to participate in the Drive Away Hunger Challenge for the fourth consecutive year,” said WCS Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools Dr. Charles Farmer. “My hope is that our ability to provide 12 tons of food items will in some small way impact a growing need in the great Williamson County community.”

The Drive Away Hunger Challenge grew from Darrell Waltrip Automotive Group’s desire to create an event that would support the efforts of GraceWorks’ pantry and their work to make sure no child in Williamson County goes hungry. Each year students at both a middle school and high school level in Williamson County’s public schools compete for cash prizes, bragging rights and trophies that will stay with the winning schools until the next year.

“Once again the generosity of Williamson County High Schools has amazed me,” said GraceWorks Food Pantry Manager Stephanie Wracher. “Congratulations to Franklin High and Fairview High on their big win again this year. Ravenwood High was a strong second followed by Centennial High. Independence more than doubled their contributions over last year. Thank you to all the high schools for your commitment to helping our Williamson County neighbors in need.”

For their wins, both Franklin and Fairview high schools received a check for $1,250 in prize money to put towards school initiatives.