VALLEY STUDENTS EXCEL; N. HOLLYWOOD TEENS DOMINATE NATIONAL TESTS.Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff WriterNorth Hollywood High School North Hollywood High School, originally called Lankershim High School when it opened in 1927, is a secondary school in North Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The school mascot is the husky, and the school colors are blue, white, grey. has produced six of the nation's top 10 Advanced Placement scholars - more than any other campus in the nation, district officials said Thursday. Two of the students, all graduates of the school's Highly Gifted Magnet The Highly Gifted Magnet (HGM) is one of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Gifted and Talented programs, restricted to students who meet the criterion of 99.9% on an intellectual assessment that meets the eligibility requirements of the district which is an IQ of 145 or Center, also were named California's highest-ranking male and female AP test-takers. ``I'm very happy for the kids,'' said Phyllis Spadafora, coordinator of the Highly Gifted Magnet. ``It's a great opportunity. It's great for the school too.'' James Gregory James Gregory may refer to:
Michael Saji, 18, of West Hills was ranked second in the nation and is attending Harvard University Harvard University, mainly at Cambridge, Mass., including Harvard College, the oldest American college. Harvard College Harvard College, originally for men, was founded in 1636 with a grant from the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. . Michael Shulman, 17, of North Hollywood placed third in the nation and will attend the California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology, at Pasadena, Calif.; originally for men, became coeducational in 1970; founded 1891 as Throop Polytechnic Institute; called Throop College of Technology, 1913–20. . Robin Stein, 17, of North Hollywood placed sixth in the nation and first among female AP test-takers in California. She is attending Michigan State University Michigan State University, at East Lansing; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1855. It opened in 1857 as Michigan Agricultural College, the first state agricultural college. . Benji Kwak, 18, of West Los Angeles
. Emily Wang, 17, of Van Nuys placed ninth in the nation. She also will attend the California Institute of Technology. ``I was really surprised. Six of the top 10 were out of North Hollywood High
To be named an AP national scholar, students need to earn a score of 4 or higher on a scale of 1-5 on eight or more of the exams. About 1,200 students nationwide qualified as national AP scholars. The top students will be honored during an Oct. 31 ceremony at Walt Disney World Noun 1. Walt Disney World - a large amusement park established in 1971 to the southwest of Orlando Orlando - a city in central Florida; site of Walt Disney World , College Board officials said. Campus officials said they were not surprised to learn their students were super achievers. In 1997, the school produced four of the nation's top 10 AP scholars. This year, North Hollywood offered 1,280 AP exams - the most in the Los Angeles Unified School District The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. . And in May, the school finished second in the national Science Bowl competition. Three of the national AP scholars were on the award-winning team: Marsden, Wang and Saji. ``I'm not astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. ,'' Spadafora said. ``I've been here for 10 years. It's very hard to be surprised when kids pull these things off. The kids really work hard, and they're very self-motivated, and the teachers are very supportive.'' Koh Ikeda, a science teacher and coach of the Science Bowl team, said the AP scholars are ``driven individuals, and when they put their minds to a task, they give it their 100 percent effort.'' Math teacher Gail Grande, who has known Marsden since he was a high school freshman, called him an ``extraordinary student'' who relishes challenges and is always eager to lend a helping hand to students in class and out. ``He's a person with just unbounded energy and enthusiasm,'' said Grande, who taught Marsden statistics during his senior year at North Hollywood. ``Greg is brilliant in everything and is very nice. He's an extraordinary student.'' Marsden and the other students said they drive each other to excel - inside class and out. ``IQ doesn't mean anything. It's all ambition,'' said Marsden, who received a $1,500 research grant from Stanford University for his high school achievements. ``It's all drive. Just being in an environment where everyone has the same potential and is trying to use it to the fullest extent possible is very inspirational.'' The Highly Gifted Magnet Center serves 244 students in grades nine through 12. To enroll, students need an IQ of 145. ``We have a very, very rigorous college prep program here that meets the needs of the highly gifted population,'' Spadafora said. ``I like to think of the AP exams as being the icing on the cake.'' Stein took 17 of the rigorous tests, starting in eighth grade with chemistry, on which she earned a perfect score of 5. Now she's enjoying the fruits of her labor at Michigan State. ``I can take any class I want to,'' she said. ``It's great. I could graduate early if I want to.'' Students can receive college credit if they earn a passing score of 3 on the exam. CAPTION(S): 6 photos PHOTO (1) KWAK (2) MARSDEN (3) SAJI (4) STEIN (5) WANG (6) North Hollywood High's Michael Shulman is among the nation's top Advanced Placement students. Evan Yee/Daily News |
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