Knightdale High student lobbies for AP class on campus
Credits to: East Wake News/DENISE SHERMAN
KNIGHTDALE - When Knightdale High School junior Chelsea Sumner found out advanced placement chemistry likely wouldn't be offered as a class because not enough students sign up, she turned into a recruiter.
She texted friends. She visited classrooms. She talked it up. And now, one month later, she has names of 30 people who want to take the AP course.
At least 20 of them must register for it later this month in order for the school to schedule it, said Sumner, the daughter of Beatice and Reginald Sumner.
Principal Carla Jernigan said AP Chemistry has been offered in the past, but that only one or two students were interested, not enough to schedule a class. The students didn't register for the on-line course the school offered as an alternative, Jernigan said.
The number of advanced placement courses at the high school has become an issue for Knightdale 100, a grassroots education advocacy group. Knightdale 100 says the high school lags behind others in the county on its AP offerings. The group plans to lobby for more of the courses that can provide college credit if a student's scores are high enough on the exam given at the end of each year.
Sumner's passion for chemistry is clear. Not only is she trying to get a higher level class taught at her school, but she has racked up several science awards for a project she did in Project SEED, a year-round science enrichment program.
Last summer, Sumner and other students accepted into the program worked with a faculty mentor at N.C. State on a research project.
Sumner's was "The effect of catalase on the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide at carbon fiber microelectrodes using fast scan cyclic voltammetry." The paper shows that the natural chemical acetylcholine can be broken down into hydrogen peroxide.
The real life application of all this is that scientists can study the effects of pleasure-causing foods and drugs in the body with hopes of finding ways to treat addiction.
Alcohol and drug addiction costs the country $247.7 billion a year and without the problem that money could be put to a better use, said Chelsea.
"I wanted to do something that could help people and make our world a better place," she said.
Before SEED, she said she had no idea what her career path would be, but now she wants to earn a doctorate in pharmacology and start her own pharmacy consulting business.
Project SEED gave her a body of work that she has since used to enter science competitions.
She won first place in the local American Chemical Society contest, was a finalist for the 2010 Neuroscience Research project, a national competition. And she was a winner in the International Science Challenge and will travel to China in March to participate in the Beijing Youth Science Competition.
Chelsea has already encouraged students in her advanced environmental science class to register for AP courses. And she will make her AP Chemistry pitch to a chemistry honors class soon.
Tentative plans are for the school to offer a semester of chemistry in conjunction with a semester of physics that would include a chemistry review for the AP exam, said Rebecca Adcock, a chemistry teacher at the school.
"She is an advocate for students," said Adcock. "And she applies chemistry to real world problems."
denise.sherman@nando.com or 269-6101 ext. 101
KNIGHTDALE - When Knightdale High School junior Chelsea Sumner found out advanced placement chemistry likely wouldn't be offered as a class because not enough students sign up, she turned into a recruiter.
She texted friends. She visited classrooms. She talked it up. And now, one month later, she has names of 30 people who want to take the AP course.
At least 20 of them must register for it later this month in order for the school to schedule it, said Sumner, the daughter of Beatice and Reginald Sumner.
Principal Carla Jernigan said AP Chemistry has been offered in the past, but that only one or two students were interested, not enough to schedule a class. The students didn't register for the on-line course the school offered as an alternative, Jernigan said.
The number of advanced placement courses at the high school has become an issue for Knightdale 100, a grassroots education advocacy group. Knightdale 100 says the high school lags behind others in the county on its AP offerings. The group plans to lobby for more of the courses that can provide college credit if a student's scores are high enough on the exam given at the end of each year.
Sumner's passion for chemistry is clear. Not only is she trying to get a higher level class taught at her school, but she has racked up several science awards for a project she did in Project SEED, a year-round science enrichment program.
Last summer, Sumner and other students accepted into the program worked with a faculty mentor at N.C. State on a research project.
Sumner's was "The effect of catalase on the oxidation of hydrogen peroxide at carbon fiber microelectrodes using fast scan cyclic voltammetry." The paper shows that the natural chemical acetylcholine can be broken down into hydrogen peroxide.
The real life application of all this is that scientists can study the effects of pleasure-causing foods and drugs in the body with hopes of finding ways to treat addiction.
Alcohol and drug addiction costs the country $247.7 billion a year and without the problem that money could be put to a better use, said Chelsea.
"I wanted to do something that could help people and make our world a better place," she said.
Before SEED, she said she had no idea what her career path would be, but now she wants to earn a doctorate in pharmacology and start her own pharmacy consulting business.
Project SEED gave her a body of work that she has since used to enter science competitions.
She won first place in the local American Chemical Society contest, was a finalist for the 2010 Neuroscience Research project, a national competition. And she was a winner in the International Science Challenge and will travel to China in March to participate in the Beijing Youth Science Competition.
Chelsea has already encouraged students in her advanced environmental science class to register for AP courses. And she will make her AP Chemistry pitch to a chemistry honors class soon.
Tentative plans are for the school to offer a semester of chemistry in conjunction with a semester of physics that would include a chemistry review for the AP exam, said Rebecca Adcock, a chemistry teacher at the school.
"She is an advocate for students," said Adcock. "And she applies chemistry to real world problems."
denise.sherman@nando.com or 269-6101 ext. 101
Wake board discusses student assignments - Wake County - NewsObserver.com
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The results are in...........
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The results of the 2010 Calendar Survey, which ran online from January 11, 2010 through January 25, 2010, were presented to the Board at its Committee of the Whole meeting on February 2, 2010.
You can view the data for yourself here:
You can view the data for yourself here:
Thank You
Knightdale 100 would like to thank the following for their eye-opening insight on the state of education at Knightdale High, and Knightdale schools in general:
Wake Ed Partnership for giving our community a concise and objective report on the current data for Knightdale High School. The data was cross-referenced and presented so that we citizens could clearly see how our high school compares to ALL high schools in Wake County. The data will soon be posted on knightdale100.blogspot.com for any citizen that is interested in the presentation. Wake Ed Partnership is a non-partisan group dedicated to world class schools for ALL of Wake County. Their interest in presenting in East Wake was due to our request for their presence. We deeply appreciate that Dr. Ann Denlinger and Tim Simmons (President and VP of Communications for Wake Ed Partnership) shared their expertise with over 60 Knightdale parents and active citizens that want to learn more! The forum was organized by Knightdale 100 a new grassroots advocacy group for Knightdale's schools.
Our group invited School Board Member Chris Malone to attend, but he was unable - although he assured us he would be present for a future forum. In his absence WE ARE GRATEFUL that County Commissioner Joe Bryan did find the time to hear this important data and continues to take an interest in equitable use of Wake County's tax dollars.
We must also thank Knightdale High School Principal, Ms. Carla Jernigan's willingness to attend and field many difficult questions. Her commitment to KHS success is clear and an inspiration. This forum was not an attack...this is an important community effort to collaborate with decision-makers and improve Knightdale's schools!
We most of all thank all of the parents, community leaders, and other Knightdale education advocates who take great interest in the education in our children here in Knightdale. As we continue along, we all will find that we all need to do our part to make Knightdale schools the first and best choice for our children.
THANK YOU!!
Wake Ed Partnership for giving our community a concise and objective report on the current data for Knightdale High School. The data was cross-referenced and presented so that we citizens could clearly see how our high school compares to ALL high schools in Wake County. The data will soon be posted on knightdale100.blogspot.com for any citizen that is interested in the presentation. Wake Ed Partnership is a non-partisan group dedicated to world class schools for ALL of Wake County. Their interest in presenting in East Wake was due to our request for their presence. We deeply appreciate that Dr. Ann Denlinger and Tim Simmons (President and VP of Communications for Wake Ed Partnership) shared their expertise with over 60 Knightdale parents and active citizens that want to learn more! The forum was organized by Knightdale 100 a new grassroots advocacy group for Knightdale's schools.
Our group invited School Board Member Chris Malone to attend, but he was unable - although he assured us he would be present for a future forum. In his absence WE ARE GRATEFUL that County Commissioner Joe Bryan did find the time to hear this important data and continues to take an interest in equitable use of Wake County's tax dollars.
We must also thank Knightdale High School Principal, Ms. Carla Jernigan's willingness to attend and field many difficult questions. Her commitment to KHS success is clear and an inspiration. This forum was not an attack...this is an important community effort to collaborate with decision-makers and improve Knightdale's schools!
We most of all thank all of the parents, community leaders, and other Knightdale education advocates who take great interest in the education in our children here in Knightdale. As we continue along, we all will find that we all need to do our part to make Knightdale schools the first and best choice for our children.
THANK YOU!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
