La Plata High School recently secured a spot on the Advanced Placement (AP) School Honor Roll for the 2023-24 school year. The school received an award for achieving qualifying AP Honor Roll metrics in the areas of College Culture, College Credits and College Optimization.

Kate Kozicki-Miller, AP Language teacher at La Plata High School, has been there for over 14 years and teaches students the importance of taking AP courses in high school. There has been a big effort to get students to take AP courses to find a subject they are confident in – or want to grow in – to further their development, Kozicki-Miller said. “This isn’t just for one class, it’s for them. We are here for you.”

La Plata received the bronze award from the College Board, a nonprofit organization that helps students succeed in college. “The AP School Honor Roll recognizes schools that have done outstanding work to welcome more students into AP courses and support them on the path to college success,” said Trevor Packer, director of AP and instruction in the college Board.

The school was the only CCPS high school to receive the award for the 2023-2024 school year. “I appreciate that we were recognized for the hard work of the teachers who accepted students into the AP classes,” said Douglass Dolan, La Plata principal. He said the students respect their teachers and that he is glad the program is getting the recognition La Plata deserves.

The Bronze Award means achieving a certain percentage of students in the graduating class who have taken an AP exam at some point in high school, the percentage of students in the graduating class who scored a C or higher on a high school AP exam and the percentage of graduating students who took five or more AP exams in high school, with at least one exam taken in their freshman or sophomore year.

The program’s seniors, Addison Sheridan and McKinley Harrold, enjoy the challenge of their AP courses. “I want to get a head start on college and challenge myself to show others that I can do more,” Sheridan said. Harrold said AP courses are based less on the grade a student gets and more on what they learn. “Teachers try to be as close to a college professor as possible,” he said.

To learn more about the College Board’s AP School Honor Roll program, visit https://bit.ly/3AutL7n.

About CCPS

Charles County Public Schools provides an academically rigorous education to 27,765 students in preschool through 12th grade. Located in southern Maryland, Charles County Public Schools has 38 schools that provide a technologically advanced, progressive, high-quality education that builds character, equips for leadership and prepares students for life, career and higher education.

The Charles County Public School System does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age or disability in its programs, activities or employment practices. For inquiries please contact Dr. Mike Blanchard, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (Student) or Nikial M. Majors, Title IX/ADA/Section 504 Coordinator (Employee/Adult), at Charles County Public Schools, Jesse L. Starkey Administration Building, PO Box 2770, La Plata, MD 20646; 301-932-6610/301-870-3814. For special accommodations, call 301-934-7230 or TDD 1-800-735-2258 two weeks prior to the event.

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