Four Bulloch Academy graduates recently earned the designation of AP Scholars with Honors and one was named AP Scholars by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievements on the college-level Advanced Placement program exams.
    Only approximately 18 percent of the 1.8 million high-school students worldwide who took AP exams performed at a sufficiently high level to earn an AP Scholar Award.
    Courtney Burnette, Davis Howell, Kaylee Sheppard and Brandon Walker qualified for the AP Scholar with Honor award. The students each earned an average grade of at least 3.25 on a five-point scale on all AP exams taken and grades of 3 or higher on four or more of the exams.
    Jonathan Lumpkin qualified for the AP Scholar Award, which means that he completed three or more AP exams with grades of 3 or higher.
    The seniors took the AP exams in May 2010 after completing rigorous Advanced Placement courses at Bulloch Academy. The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program offers students the opportunity to take challenging college-level courses while still in high school and to receive college credit,
advanced placement or both for successful performance on the AP exams.
    Currently, Bulloch Academy offers six AP courses for juniors and seniors: U.S. History, Government, World History, English Literature, English Language and Art History. Plans are in the works to expand the school’s AP program.
    Most of the nation’s universities and colleges award credit, advanced placement or both based on successful performance on the AP exams. Research consistently shows that AP students who score a 3 or higher on AP Exams (based on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest) typically experience greater academic success in college and have higher college graduation rates than students who do not participate in AP.
    Kaylee was the valedictorian of the Class of 2011. She is currently a freshman at the University of Georgia. Sheppard, who was the senior class secretary, is also an accomplished equestrian.
    Courtney was the salutation of the Class of 2011. She is currently a freshman at the University of Georgia and was awarded a UGA Charter Scholarship. In her senior year at BA, she was the DAR Good Citizen, won a Savannah Morning News Award of Excellence, was a competition cheerleader and won the Student of the Year.
    Davis is currently a freshman at the University of Georgia. Howell, who was the senior class vice president, was also awarded a UGA Charter Scholarship and a CMCA Scholarship.
    Brandon is a freshman at the United States Naval Academy at West Point and recently finished Basic Training. Walker was the school’s STAR student, was the class president, the quarterback on the football team and a guard on the basketball team. He was also presented with the Leadership Award at graduation.
    Jonathan is currently a freshman at the University of Georgia. All five were awarded the HOPE Scholarship.