school profile 2010-2011 - Cary Academy

SCHOOL PROFILE2010-2011CARY ACADEMY1500 North Harrison AvenueCary, North Carolina 27513www.caryacademy.orgHead of School: Donald S. BergerHead of Upper School: Mitchell W. McGuiganDirector of College CounselingAssociate Director of College CounselingSusan P. StaggersLaura T. SellersTel: 919-228-4588 Tel: 919-228-4515Email: susan_staggers@caryacademy.org Email: laura_sellers@caryacademy.orgAdministrative Assistant to College CounselorsDarshana B. WaniTel: 919-228-4671Fax: 919-677-8733Email: darshana_wani@caryacademy.orgCollege Board Code: 340601American College Test Code: 340-601Accredited by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) and Southern Associationof Independent Schools (SAIS)Member: National, Southern, and North Carolina Associations of Independent SchoolsNational Association of College Admissions CounselingSouthern Association of College Admissions CounselingThe College Board

The School: History and EnrollmentCary Academy is an independent, co-educational, college preparatory day school for grades 6-12. The school was founded in1996. The first senior class graduated in 2000. In 2010-2011, there are 103 seniors and over 400 students in the UpperSchool. 100% of our graduates attend 4-year colleges or universities.Location and MissionThe school is located on a 65-acre campus in the heart of the dynamic Research Triangle of Raleigh, Durham and ChapelHill, North Carolina. Cary Academy is committed to providing a challenging academic program that integrates the best oftraditional education with new and emerging technologies. All students and faculty have tablet computers and the campus iswireless. Cary Academy’s mission is to create a learning community dedicated to discovery, innovation, collaboration andexcellence.Special ProgramsWorld Language Exchange Program: Our World Language Department offers instruction through the ADVANCED level inMandarin Chinese, French, Spanish and German. The department also coordinates an exchange program for all Upper Schoolstudents, typically during students’ sophomore or junior year. The program is based upon reciprocal partnerships betweenCary Academy and schools in Argentina, Austria, China, Chile, Ecuador, and France. Cary Academy students have theopportunity to spend 15-20 days abroad—living with a host family, visiting their school, and experiencing daily life in thehost community. In return, Cary Academy students and their families receive groups of students from our partner schools fora similar program in our own community.Mentored Internship: Cary Academy offers a Mentored Internship course which provides the opportunity for in-depth study,original research and active learning through immersion as an intern with a professional in an area of the student's interest.The course is yearlong and carries 1.0 credit.Discovery Term: Each Cary Academy student participates in a two-week Discovery Term in high school, generally at the endof the sophomore or junior year. The course is an opportunity for students to engage in a discovery-based group learningexperience as they investigate areas outside of the regular curriculum. Students and faculty join in groups to formulateessential questions that will be pursued through focused exploration and experiential learning. Past topics include Ethics,Experiences in Wilderness, Studies in Diversity, and the History of Islam.Blended Learning Environment (BLE): Blended Learning Environment (BLE) classes at Cary Academy are innovativecourses combining two periods per week of classroom-based learning with three periods per week of online learning. Faceto-faceclassroom instruction, integrated with an online component, allows students to employ electronic tools to contributeto the design and direction of their learning. BLE courses are taught with the same rigor as traditional courses.Calendar and Graduation RequirementsCary Academy operates on a trimester system in a traditional August to June calendar. To graduate, students must take aminimum of 5 full credits each year with a minimum of 4 credits in English; 3 credits in Mathematics (including a minimumof Algebra II): 3 credits in History; 3 credits in Science to include biology, chemistry and physics, and three full-year coursesin one foreign language in grades 9-12. In addition to those credits in core courses, students must take 2 credits in Fine Arts(1/2 credit in World Arts in both 9 th and 10 th grades), as well as Health in 9 th grade; Emotional Health and P.E. in 10 th grade;and one trimester of P.E. in 11 th and 12 th grades.Students may qualify for course-load reductions in special circumstances. Students taking two or more ADVANCED (ADV)courses may reduce their loads to 4 full-credit courses.Grading ScaleA+ 97-100 B+ 87-89 C+ 77-79 D+ 67-69A 93-96 B 83-86 C 73-76 D 65-66A- 90-92 B- 80-82 C- 70-73 F Below 65No Rank/No GPA PolicyBecause our graduating classes are small, our programs highly rigorous, our range of grades narrow, and our students almostwithout exception entering competitive four-year colleges, it is our policy to neither rank our students nor computeG.P.A.

Advanced (ADV) and Honors (H) CoursesCary Academy offers ADVANCED Courses in lieu of Advanced Placement (AP) courses. ADVANCED (ADV) courses aretaught with the rigor and expectations of Advanced Placement courses. These courses differ from AP courses in that teachershave the ability to modify the AP course syllabus and emphasize depth of research and study or specific areas of study notprescribed in the AP syllabus. Most Cary Academy students enrolled in ADVANCED (ADV) courses choose to sit for thecorresponding Advanced Placement (AP) exam offered by The College Board.Normally students take no more than two ADVANCED courses as Juniors and no more than three ADVANCED courses asSeniors, although exceptions are permitted based on performance in relevant classes and overall academic performance.Scheduling availability can also be a factor in course selection. In 2010-2011, Cary Academy offers 25 ADVANCED courses.Cary Academy also offers four Honors courses, as follows: Honors Geometry (H), Honors Algebra II (H), Precalculus (H),and Honors Physics (H). These courses cover the same topics as standard college preparatory courses but with moreemphasis on depth of coverage.Advanced Placement Exam ResultsIn May 2010, 170 students took 413 Advanced Placement examinations in 23 areas.87% of the scores were 3, 4, or 5.Examination Area 5 4 3 Percent3, 4, 5Biology 5 5 3 76Calculus AB 30 9 7 96Calculus BC 2 0 0 67Chemistry 15 6 3 100Computer Science A 1 0 0 100Economics-Macro 5 12 8 86Economics-Micro 11 16 4 100English Language/Composition 24 25 17 96English Literature/Composition 5 11 10 84Environmental Science 4 6 3 54European History 5 5 1 100French Language 4 1 3 73German Language 1 0 4 100Government and Politics US 3 6 11 67Physics C-E&M 1 1 1 60Physics C-MECH 5 7 1 72Psychology 1 0 0 100Spanish Language 2 4 2 73Spanish Literature 1 1 4 75Statistics 1 0 0 50Studio Art-2D Design 0 0 3 100US History 15 12 3 100World History 1 0 1 100TOTALS 142 126 89PERCENTAGES 34 31 22 87SAT Results for Classes of 2009 and 2010Class of 2010: SAT CR SAT M SAT WRMean Scores: 644 658 650Mid 50 %iles: 590-705 600-710 600-695Class of 2009: SAT CR SAT M SAT WRMean Scores: 644 657 646Mid 50%iles: 580-700 610-720 580-700Twenty one percent of the Class of 2010 was recognized by the National Merit Program4 National Merit Semi-finalists and 14 National Merit Commended Students2 National Achievement Semi-finalists and 1 National Achievement Outstanding Participant

College Acceptances and Matriculations for Classes of 2009 and 2010(202 Total Students)Class of 2010 Choices: The 99 members of the Class of 2010 will attend 50 different college and universities.American UniversityAppalachian State University*Arizona State UniversityAuburn University*Babson CollegeBall State UniversityBarton CollegeBelmont University*Boston CollegeBoston UniversityBowdoin CollegeBrandeis UniversityBrown University*Bryn Mawr College*Bucknell University*Campbell University*Carnegie Mellon University*Case Western Reserve UniversityThe Citadel*Clemson University*College of Charleston*College of Holy CrossCollege of William and Mary*College of WoosterColumbia University*Cornell University*Creighton UniversityDartmouth CollegeDavidson College*Dickinson CollegeDrexel UniversityDuke University*Duquesne UniversityEast Carolina University*Elon University*Emerson College*Emory University*Fairfield UniversityFordham University*Franklin and Marshall CollegeFurman UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityGeorgetown University*Georgia Institute of Technology*Gettysburg CollegeGuilford CollegeHampden-Sydney CollegeHampton UniversityHarvard University*Harvey Mudd College*Haverford College*High Point University*Hofstra UniversityHoward UniversityIowa State UniversityIthaca College*Bold with*=MatriculantJames Madison UniversityJohns Hopkins University*Kenyon College*Knox CollegeLafayette College*Lenoir-Rhyne University*Lewis & Clark CollegeLoyola College Chicago*Loyola University New OrleansMarquette UniversityMaryville UniversityMassachusetts College of Art andDesignMcGill University, Canada*Meredith College*Middlebury CollegeMorehouse CollegeMount Holyoke CollegeMuhlenberg CollegeNew Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew Mexico Institute of Mining andTechnology*New York University*North Carolina School of the ArtsNorth Carolina State University*Northeastern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityOberlin CollegeOccidental CollegeOglethorpe UniversityOlin College of Engineering*Pennsylvania State University*Pomona CollegePratt InstitutePrinceton UniversityProvidence CollegePurdue University*Quinnipiac University*Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute*Rhode Island School of Design*Rhodes CollegeRice University*Rochester Institute of Technology*Rollins College*Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology*Rutgers UniversitySanta Clara University*Sarah Lawrence CollegeSavannah College of Art and DesignSewanee: The University of the South*Shaw University*Shenandoah University*Skidmore CollegeSoka University of AmericaSouthern Methodist University*St. Olaf College*Stanford University*SUNY – Stony BrookSwarthmore CollegeSyracuse UniversityTexas A&M*The Cooper UnionTrinity University*Tufts University*Tulane UniversityUnited States Coast Guard AcademyUnited States Military Academy*United States Naval Academy*University of Arizona*University of California-San DiegoUniversity of California-Santa BarbaraUniversity of Chicago*University of CincinnatiUniversity of Colorado at BoulderUniversity of Connecticut*University of DelawareUniversity of DenverUniversity of FloridaUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Illinois-ChicagoUniversity of Maryland*University of MiamiUniversity of Michigan*University of Missouri-Kansas City*University of North Carolina-Asheville*Chapel Hill*Charlotte*GreensboroWilmington*University of Notre DameUniversity of Pennsylvania*University of PittsburghUniversity of Richmond*University of South Carolina*University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity of TennesseeUniversity of Vermont*University of VirginiaUrsinus CollegeVanderbilt University*Vassar CollegeVillanova UniversityVirginia Commonwealth UniversityVirginia Tech*Wake Forest University*Washington and Lee University*Washington University in St. Louis*Wellesley College*Wesleyan UniversityWest Virginia UniversityWilliams College*Wingate UniversityWinthrop UniversityWofford College