DERBY – Derby High School was named to the College Board’s 2025 Advanced Placement Honor Roll, school officials announced Jan. 14.
“I’m incredibly proud of our students for challenging themselves with rigorous coursework,” Derby High School Principal Jen Olson said in a prepared statement.
Advanced Placement (AP) classes are college-level courses offered to high school students.
The College Board is a nonprofit group that plays an important role in the U.S. education system. Among its tasks: administering annual SAT tests and authorizing AP classes. Click here to visit the College Board’s website. The organization is more than 100 years old and includes more than 6,000 schools.
Its annual AP Honor Roll honors schools that “reflect a commitment to increasing college-going culture, providing opportunities for students to earn college credit, and maximizing college readiness,” according to a previous statement from the College Board.
AP classes culminate in exams given each in May from the College Board.
The AP Honor Roll recognizes schools and school districts that encourage higher learning. This year’s list, which will be formally released by the College Board at the end of this month, looks at data from the last school year.
During the 2024-2025 school year, Derby High School students took 131 AP tests. A score of 3 or better (out of 5) puts the student on the path toward possible college credit, or the ability to skip intro classes once in college, according to the College Board website.
Of the 131 tests, 61 exams were scored with a 3 or better.
“Our teachers are doing an excellent job preparing students for college and career,” Olson said.
The AP Honor Roll’s ranking system includes bronze, silver, gold and platinum designations.
Platinum is the highest rank.
Derby High School was ranked platinum in the “college optimization” category. The category recognizes schools that support students in taking five or more AP exams during high school, with at least one of those exams taken in ninth or tenth grade, according to a statement from the district.
Derby High School was ranked gold in the “college credit” category. That category recognizes schools where a high percentage of students earned a score of 3 or more on an AP exam. At Derby High School, 36 percent of the students in the class of 2025 scored a 3 or higher on the AP exams.
Derby High School was ranked silver in the “college culture” category. That category recognizes schools where a certain percentage of students in a graduating class took at least one AP exam during high school. That’s 41 students from the time period covered. The school was just one student away from achieving “gold” in this category.
Click here to read a full explanation of the criteria from the College Board’s website.
Derby Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Conway called the news a “tremendous accomplishment.”
“This achievement reflects the dedication of our AP teachers, counselors, administrators, and – most importantly – our students, who continue to rise to the challenge of rigorous academic opportunities,” Conway said in a prepared statement.
Derby Board of Education Chairman Ken Marcucio Sr. said the community should be proud.
“This achievement is especially meaningful to the students, their families, and the outstanding teachers and administrators who support them each day,” he said.
Derby High School’s AP teachers will be recognized at a future Derby Board of Education meeting, according to officials.
Derby High School has 319 students.
Recognizing Student Achievement
Derby Public Schools Jan. 14 also recognized 12 students who earned College Board AP Scholar Honors based on last year’s data.
- Nine of the Derby students were named AP Scholars
- Two were AP Scholars with Honors
- One was an AP Scholar with Distinction, the highest rank
The district sent the following names of high-achieving students from Derby High School (many are from last year’s graduating class because that’s the time period the data covers):
AP Scholars
(earning scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams)
Kayla Adams –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Cairn University, Major: Criminal Justice
Gianna Akter –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Mount Holyoke College, Major: Neuroscience
Ferdinando Amartey –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending University of Wisconsin, Madison, Major: Biomedical Engineering /Architecture; United States Marine Corps
Raelynn Harris –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Western New England University, Major: Biology/Environmental Science
Vanessa Nguyen –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Brown University, Major: Economics
Nicholas Sheridan –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Purchase College, Major: Economics
Cassandra Silkoff –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Suffolk University, Major: Psychology
Quintin Simjouw –
AP Scholar, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Clarkson University, Major: Data Science
Souzveen Mekael –
AP Scholar, Grade 11 (Class of 2026)
AP Scholars with Honor
(achieving an average score of at least 3.25 across all AP exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more exams)
Kevin P. McGuire
AP Scholar with Honor, Grade 12 (Class of 2025) Attending Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Major: Music, Piano Performance
Carter Ruggiero
AP Scholar with Honor, Grade 11 (Class of 2026)
AP Scholar with Distinction
(earning an average score of at least 3.5 on all AP exams and scores of 3 or higher on five or more exams) Brianna A. Kling –
AP Scholar with Distinction, Grade 12 (Class of 2025), Attending The Ohio State University, Major: Exploratory