Walled Lake Consolidated Schools celebrates 38 AP Capstone Diploma recipients

Walled Lake Consolidated Schools is proud to recognize 38 students that earned the prestigious AP Capstone Diploma in 2024. Additionally, six students earned the AP Seminar and Research Certificate during the 2023-24 school year.

"We are incredibly proud of the 38 Walled Lake students who earned this prestigious distinction in 2024,” said Dr. Michael Lonze, Superintendent of Schools. “Their hard work, dedication, and commitment to academic excellence are truly inspiring. These students have demonstrated exceptional critical thinking, research, and communication skills that will serve them well in their future endeavors. Their success reflects the strength of our District's academic programs and the unwavering support of our teachers, staff, and families."

Walled Lake Consolidated Schools offers the AP Capstone program at Walled Lake Central and Walled Lake Northern high schools. Ms. Shanell Eastman heads up the program at Walled Lake Central, and Ms. Deborah Terry and Mr. Kevin LaPlante run the program at Walled Lake Northern.

“We proudly recognize the achievements of students who participated in the AP Capstone Diploma program,” said Walled Lake Central principal Kyle Meteyer. “With the help of dedicated teachers, our AP Capstone students explored their passions through scholarly research as part of an impactful, multiyear program.”

“Students who go through this program are better prepared to be able to identify a problem, research what has been done to solve the issue, and then to come up with new ways to address them,” added Walled Lake Northern principal Greg Diamond. “Many of our alumni have continued to research some of the same work they began here at Northern at the universities they matriculated to.”

To receive the AP Capstone Diploma, a student must earn scores of three of higher in AP Seminar, AP Research, and on four additional AP Exams of the student’s choice. To receive the AP Seminar and Research Certificate, a student must earn scores of three of higher in AP Seminar and AP Research.

Unlike traditional AP subject exams with a single end-of-year assessment, AP Seminar and AP Research assessments are project based and evaluate skills mastery through group projects, presentations, and individual essays completed throughout the year. Instead of focusing on one specific academic discipline, AP Seminar and AP Research are interdisciplinary. Students are encouraged to create research projects based on topics of personal interest. Students are assessed on the critical thinking, research, collaboration, time management, and presentation skills needed to complete their projects.

Some of the topic’s students focused their research on this past year included:

• Children’s Perception, Response and Relationships to Literature
• Sports Participation and Body Idealization among Adolescents
• The Effects of Memes on Political Views
• An Evaluation of Jury Instructions in Southeast Michigan

Of the students who participated in the AP Capstone Diploma within Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, 38 were awarded the AP Capstone Diploma, six were awarded the AP Seminar and Research Certificate, and 37 were graduating seniors in the Class of 2024.