Northwest Little Leaguers Triumph
Northwest Little League’s all star teams for 10- and 11-year-olds have won the D.C. championships in their age groups for the second straight year.
Both teams will represent the District of Columbia in the Maryland state tournament, which begins July 14.
The under-10 team defeated Capitol Hill Little League in the semifinals and a Capitol City Little League in the championship game. The under-11 team went undefeated in its 2018 tournament, giving Northwest its fourth straight District title in the 11 year-old age group.
In the under-12 division, the team that wins the D.C. tournament, which is scheduled to end on July 24, automatically goes on to compete in the Mid-Atlantic tournament, one of several that can lead to the LIttle League World Series. The Mid-Atlantic tournament will be held in early August in Bristol, Conn.
DC Private Schools Opt Out of AP
Four Northwest institutions are among seven prominent area private schools that have announced they will eliminate Advanced Placement classes over the next four years. In a joint statement issued June 18, the schools argued that the AP credential has become “less noteworthy” and tying classes to preparation for AP exams limits their curricula.
The schools dropping AP are Sidwell Friends, Georgetown Day, National Cathedral and St. Albans in DC, as well as Landon in Bethesda and Potomac in McLean, Va. Maret School, which has never offered AP classes, joined in the anti-AP statement.
“Collectively, we believe a curriculum oriented toward collaborative, experiential and interdisciplinary learning will not only better prepare our students for college and their professional futures, but also result in more engaging programs for both students and faculty,” the schools said. “We expect this approach will appeal to students’ innate curiosity, increase their motivation and fuel their love of learning.”
The College Board offers 38 AP courses in subjects from calculus to English, scored on a scale of 1 to 5. Many colleges award credit for scores of 3 or better, and allow students to skip introductory courses. Some colleges restrict credits to the highest scorers and some do not offer credits for all of the exams.
The private schools said in their statement that their students felt “compelled to take AP courses in the mistaken belief that failing to do so may hurt their college prospects.” However, they surveyed nearly 150 colleges and universities, where admissions officers assured them eliminating AP courses from their transcripts would not hurt elite students’ chances.
Students can opt to take the exams without having taken a class specifically geared to their content.
