By Mike Hutchens Union City Schools Communications Director
It is truly an All Star list.
A total of 17 Union City High School students earned the designation of Advanced Placement School Scholar after posting high-ranking test scores on that program’s end-of-the year exams.
Two of those recent UCHS graduates – Elizabeth Calfee and Robert Ullrich – were awarded the special status of AP Scholar with Distinction, a standing gained by averaging a score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams taken and scoring 3 or higher on five or more on those tests.
The exams are given as part of the prerequisite to enroll in the Advanced Placement courses at Union City High School and are graded on a 1-5 system. Students are rewarded – both with college credit and financially – by scoring high on the end-of-the-school tests.
The list of highly-honored students represents the most number of scholars the program has ever produced, with the 2017-18 school year also setting a high-water mark for the most students involved.
Five more Union City students (Benjamin Beard, MollyBeth Blackwell, Alexis Culver, Kenedy Sisson and Claire Wisener) were lauded with the title of AP Scholar with Honor. To achieve that, every one of that group received scores of 3.25 or higher on all AP exams taken and scored 3 or higher on four or more of those exams.
A total of 10 from the graduating class of 2018 earned AP Scholar accolades, that title given to students who receive scores of 3 or higher on three or more exams.
Included among that group was Gray Batey, LaNyah Cross, Diego Ferrer, Duncan Hollis, Austin Jernigan, Eli Jordan, Grant Kizer, John Miles, Bradley Schlager and Jacob Virgin.
“Certainly, I commend our students and teachers on their efforts and success in these program,” UCHS Principal Jacob Cross said. “It actually starts at the elementary school – all the way down to the second grade where they begin with our advance programs.
“Our teachers accept no excuses from the first day of school to the last. And they teach bell-to-bell every day.”
Included among the scores were the school system’s best-ever totals in physics and calculus, subjects taught by first-year teachers. There were five 5s in calculus alone.
“We used to joke that if they made 5s on these tests, we wanted them to come back and teach for us one day,” the UCHS top administrator grinned.
Cross also noted that in addition to the 17 AP scholars, 17 percent of this year’s graduating class made 30 or better on their ACT.
The financial payout for the incentive-laden program that also rewards those who excel with college credit was over $17,150. Another $5,800 will be handed out by the Union City School System to those students who scored 21 or better on the ACT.
Photo: Those who made the AP Scholar roster from UCHS include (sitting, from left) Lexi Culver, MollyBeth Blackwell, LaNyah Cross, (standing, from left) Gray Batey, Jeep Miles, Eli Jordan, Thomas Beard, Austin Jernigan, Brad Schlager, Jacob Virgin, Duncan Hollis and Grant Kizer. Not pictured are Diego Ferrer, Kenedy Sisson, Claire Wisener, Elizabeth Calfee and Robert Ullrich
Photo by Mike Hutchens
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