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AP courses offer Tahoe Truckee students a leg up on college

Aside from well-funded programs at both schools, students are encouraged by faculty to attempt one Advanced Placement course, typically when they sign up for classes ahead of their junior years.
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BY THE NUMBERS

During 2017-18, a total of 406 students enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement course for a total of 898 courses taken at North Lake Tahoe and Truckee high schools.

With more than a dozen Advanced Placement classes to choose from, high school students enrolled the Tahoe Truckee Unified School District are getting a leg up on college, before ever stepping foot on a university campus.

North Tahoe High School and Truckee High School students can sign up for one of any of 15 Advanced Placement classes, rivaling such opportunities for advanced studies at schools in large cities, school officials said.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to offer a large number of AP courses at both our comprehensive high schools even though they are relatively small schools,” said Superintendent Chief Learning Officer Dr. Robert Leri. “And that is primarily based on funding we received from out parcel tax, Measure A, and that funds our AP program.”



Measure A is a low-cost, flat parcel tax, according to the district, that generates funding for Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.

“You would not typically find a 400-student high school or a 700-student high school offering 14 or 15 AP courses or the range of courses we offer.”Superintendent Chief Learning Officer Dr. Robert Leri

In 2016-17, Truckee received $815,799 from the tax, while North Tahoe received $485,870.



“You would not typically find a 400-student high school or a 700-student high school offering 14 or 15 AP courses or the range of courses we offer,” said Leri.

Aside from well-funded programs at both schools, students are encouraged by faculty to attempt one Advanced Placement course, typically when they sign up for classes ahead of their junior years.

Advanced Placement courses are worth 5.0 for an A on the weighted GPA scale for and are designed to help students prepare for the rigors of college. College credit can be earned at the end of the year if students are able to pass the Advanced Placement exam.

During 2018, a total of 406 students enrolled in at least one Advanced Placement course, according to Tahoe Truckee Unified School District Coordinator of Parent & Community Relations Kelli Twomey, for a total of 898 courses taken.

Of the 439 Advanced Placement exams taken, 255 received passing scores for college credits.

Student attending the district for the 2018-19 school year will have a number of options when it comes to taking classes, including: biology, calculus, chemistry, computer science, English, U.S. government, physics, Spanish, and several others. Visit http://www.ttusd.org for a complete list of course offerings at North Lake Tahoe and Truckee high schools.

Justin Scacco is a reporter for the Sierra Sun. Contact him at jscacco@sierrasun.com.


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