Redmond Proficiency Academy offers ‘AP Capstone’ program

The Redmond Proficiency Academy is only one of two schools in Oregon to offer the AP Capstone program, beginning in the 2015-2016 academic year.

According to the College Board, “AP Capstone is an innovative diploma program that helps students stand out in the college admission process by developing the critical skills needed to succeed in college and in life.”

The program is taken over two years, with the first course called AP Seminar. Next year, RPA sophomores and juniors will enroll in the course, which will be team-taught by Humanities teachers George Hegarty and Ryan McLaughlin.

Of the interdisciplinary nature of AP Seminar, McLaughlin shared, “I am very excited to be offering Big History along with AP Capstone at RPA! Big History’s multi-disciplinary approach gives students the opportunity to investigate and discover the connections between the biggest ideas in the history of the Universe!

“Students will look at major events from the perspective of the social, physical, and natural sciences, giving them an opportunity to see how these different disciplines consider the same event.”

Hegarty, who will be emphasizing the research and writing portion of AP Seminar, said, “I’m really excited to be a part of this, as we are going to be able to simulate a college environment for our students. The assessments in AP Capstone are balanced, in that emphasize critical writing, research, and presentation skills both individually and in small groups.”

During the students’ senior years, they will take the AP Research course. This class is designed to allow students to dig deeply into subject matter from any of their AP courses, and it culminates with an academic thesis paper.

George Hegarty said of the AP Research course, “Our college schedule at RPA is unlike any school’s in Central Oregon, as it allows our students to really take the time to form a partnership with a teacher on campus who specializes in a specific academic area, and to develop an academic passion into, in their senior years of high school, upper division college work.”

RPA students will begin enrolling in the second half of the AP Capstone program during the 2016-2017 academic year.

Success completion of the two-course AP Capstone program in addition to students’ passing four additional AP exams over the course of high school will allow them to earn the AP Capstone Diploma.

The College Board highlights the balanced nature of the AP Capstone Program, “The courses allow students to immerse themselves in topic that matter to them wile developing the analytic, research, problem-solving, and communication skills that colleges seek in their applicants.”

RPA still has limited openings for the Fall 2015. Interested students should apply now online at rpacademy.org or call 541/526-0882 to set up a personalized tour.