Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Eight Fulton County high schools are “AP Honor Schools” according to a recent announcement made by the Georgia Department of Education. Advanced Placement, or AP, classes and exams are administered by the College Board and offer rigorous college-level learning options to students in high school.

The 2009 AP Honor Schools are named in three categories based on the results of 2007-08 AP classes and exams: (1) AP Challenge Schools (schools with fewer than 900 students that offer AP classes in core content areas); (2) AP Access and Support Schools (schools with higher percentages of minority students taking AP classes and scoring highly) and (3) AP Merit Schools.

The AP Merit Schools distinction recognizes those with at least 20 percent of students taking AP exams and with at least half of those exams receiving a score of three or higher. Eight of the 27 schools in this category are from the Fulton County School System. This is the second consecutive year that each have been named AP Merit Schools.

· Alpharetta High School

· Centennial High School

· Chattahoochee High School

· Milton High School

· North Springs Charter High School

· Northview High School

· Riverwood International Charter School

· Roswell High School

The College Board administers AP exams each spring, with scores ranging from one to five. Students who receive a three, four or five on AP exams are eligible receive college credit or may be exempt from some introductory college courses.

Labels: alpharetta high school, ap honor schools, centennial, Chattahoochee, Fulton County, georgia department of education, High School, Milton High School, north, Northview, riverwood, roswell high

Newsweek Magazine has named seven Fulton County schools in its annual list of 1,300 top-ranking public high schools in the United States.

Centennial (No. 272), Riverwood (No. 301), Milton (No. 325), Northview (No. 347), Roswell (No. 529), Chattahoochee (No. 530) and Alpharetta (No. 1129) high schools made the list. You can view the report on Newsweek's web site.

Newsweek ranked the schools according to a ratio that takes the total number of 2007 Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate tests divided by the number of graduating seniors.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/39380/?s=alpharetta

Labels: Alpharetta, centennial, Chattahoochee, City of Roswell, milton, newsweek, Northview, riverwood, top high schools

Hundreds of parents came to Autrey Mill Middle School on Monday night to get a glimpse of the proposed attendance lines for the new high school under construction in Johns Creek.

The proposed maps were the result of comments and suggestions submitted from an earlier meeting. Suggestions are generally boiled down into two or three possibilities, but this time four options were presented.

"I was afraid that if we didn't put all of the options out there, people would say, 'Why didn't you consider this?'" said Patrick Burke, the chief facilities officer for Fulton County Schools.

Ashley Widener, District 5 school board representative, said the planning staff offered up so many options with the hope that "the community will help come up with a better plan."

The school populations most affected by the redistricting so far are Alpharetta, Chattahoochee and Northview. Attendance zones for Centennial, Milton and Roswell are not affected at this time because a new high school is planned for the Freemanville area in 2012 that will require redistricting.

After an hour long presentation by Burke, the more than 350 parents broke into small groups and gave additional input on the four options. Those ideas and comments be used to condense the four maps into one or two by the next meeting later in the month.

Community members who were unable to make the meeting can participate via the district's Web site, where the handouts from the meeting and the four maps can be viewed.

Labels: Alpharetta, Attendance Maps, Chattahoochee, High School, Johns Creek, Northview

November 28, 2007
Since the school's inception, Northview High's International Night has been one of its biggest and most popular events among students, faculty, staff and parents. But this year, the Northview family outdid itself. There wasn't an empty seat in the house.

The event, presented by the school's Kaleidoscope Club, was coined this year as a "night of enrichment and culture." And that it was.

The event featured the many countries and cultures represented at Northview through the sampling of tasty delights, the "Collision" of cultures fashion show and the extremely popular cultural talent show. Acts like the Bollywood Film Dance and the Korean Hip Hop commanded the packed auditorium. And other acts, like the mother-daughter Chinese Guzheng performance, had students enthralled by the talent of their peers.

But there was a serious aspect to the event this year. The school invited Bill Nigut, the southeast regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, who spoke about the importance of stifling discrimination and making the world a better place for all right now.

"If not now, when?" he asked attendees. "When will we make the world a better place to live?"

Nigut said that task has become even harder in recent years.

"We live in perilous times," he said. "9/11 changed our universe. It made us more suspicious. We have to find a way to balance respect for individuals against our security needs."

At night's end, the Kaleidoscope Club challenged students to sign its "No Place for Hate" pledge to ensure the proud display of differences at Northview.

Labels: Johns Creek, Northview

Northview vs. Milton (Oct. 12); Chattahoochee vs. Milton (Nov. 9)

Mayors Mike Bodker and Joe Lockwood are ready for some footballMayors Joe Lockwood and Mike Bodker have placed a friendly bet over which city has the best football team -- Milton or Johns Creek -- with the first round of friendly competition scheduled this Friday night, Oct. 12. That’s when the Northview Titans host the Milton Eagles at 7:30 p.m. for Northview’s 2007 Homecoming.

If Milton High wins, Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker has to wear an Eagles jersey for the entire length of the next Johns Creek City Council meeting. If the Northview Titans win, Mayor Lockwood has to wear a Northview football jersey for an entire Milton City Council Meeting.

The competition continues on Friday night, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m., when the Chattahoochee Cougars play Milton on their home turf. The same “jersey bet” applies to the losing school’s mayor for that game, too.

Let’s cheer our team to victory so we can see Eagles jerseys in our neighboring City Council meetings all season!

Labels: Alpharetta, Chattahoochee, Eagles, Football, High School, Johns Creek, milton, Northview, Roswell, School