Sayville Schools Make AP Honor Roll

Sayville was among the nine Long Island school districts named to the College Board's second annual AP District Honor Roll for increasing enrollment in college-level courses and for keeping students’ scores high.

“I am proud of the dedication of our students and teachers to challenge themselves to take higher level courses and the support of the parents and community to give our students this opportunity,” said Dr. Walter Schartner, superintendent of Sayville School District. “Usually when a greater percentage of students take the opportunity to challenge themselves with high level AP courses, the passing percentage decreases. This did not happen for Sayville.”

A total of 367 school districts across the United States and Canada were named, including 30 in New York. The recognition focuses on student participation in Advanced Placement courses, often the most rigorous classes a district offers. Students score from 1 to 5 on AP exams, which are taken at the end of each course. Many competitive universities grant college credit for scores of 3, 4 or 5.

“The AP exams are national exams,” Schartner said. “The colleges and universities can use them as a nationwide measure to compare students. We have more students getting into top flight universities and receiving partial to full scholarships.”

The College Board examined three years of AP data. For selection to the Honor Roll, districts were required to have increased participation in AP courses by at least 4 percent in large districts, 6 percent in medium-sized school systems and 11 percent in smaller districts.

For example, in 2007, 325 students were enrolled in AP classes in Sayville. According to the district, the number has steadily increased since then. In 2008, there were 370 students and 56 AP Scholars. In 2009, the number jumped to 444 students and 73 AP Scholars. In 2010, there were 503 students enrolled in AP classes and 86 AP Scholars. In 2011, there are 526 students and 94 AP Scholars.

“The AP courses were for a select group of students in the past,”  Schartner added. “We now offer them as an opportunity for all students. We also offer more AP courses than before in varied disciplines. We currently run 18 AP offerings.”

The 2 percent tax could have some impact on the district’s future programs. "The community at some point will be making important decisions on supporting the opportunities for students vs. meeting the new tax levy cap unless the Governor comes up with mandate relief that he promised," Schartner said. “To date there has been no mandate relief from Albany and very little discussion of any coming soon. If the mandates stay in place Albany should fund them. If Albany does not fund mandates then districts will be looking for ways to cut spending on a regular basis. With the cap every year is compounded. You will need concessions to get below the cap on a yearly basis. It is not reasonable to do this to your employees every year.”