Baker High School in Mobile has been invited to join the Advanced Placement Capstone program, a distinction extended to only a handful of campuses across the country and a nod to the school’s strong track record on AP exams.
Principal Clem Richardson delivered the news during a work session of the Mobile County school board, telling members the invitation grew out of years of hard work by students and teachers alike. “This is quite an honor to be invited, and to be a pacesetter,” Superintendent Martha Peek told the board, adding that she was proud of the campus.
The recognition follows a standout year for Advanced Placement results across the district. Mobile County schools reported 144 AP Scholars for the spring 2014 exams, students who scored at least a 3 out of 5 on three or more tests. Baker led all local campuses with 49 AP Scholars, ahead of Davidson with 33 and Murphy with 31.
Administered by the College Board, AP Capstone is described as a diploma program built to sharpen the research, writing and analytical skills students need to succeed in college. At the time of the announcement, only two other Alabama campuses carried the designation: Hoover High School and Virgil I. Grissom High School in Huntsville. Nationally the group remained small, with a handful of schools in states such as New York, Tennessee, Georgia and the Carolinas.
Richardson compared the program’s structure to that of a doctoral degree, noting that participating students must research, present and defend an academic thesis along with meeting other requirements. “It will take an extra commitment on the part of the staff and students at Baker,” Peek said.
Because the program links campuses in countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and China, the invitation also brings a measure of national and international recognition to the Mobile school, Richardson said.
The honor reflects a broader push within the Mobile County system to expand access to college-level coursework. In recent years the district has grown the number of AP classes offered across its dozen high schools, giving students the chance to earn college credit before they graduate. While each AP exam carries an $85 fee, the system covers part of the cost for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, and it provides study sessions and test-preparation materials to help them get ready.