Willow Canyon Students Receive Cambridge Awards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 3/9/2022

Four students from the Dysart School’s Willow Canyon High School have received prestigious awards from Cambridge Assessment International Education, part of the University of Cambridge, to acknowledge their outstanding performance on Cambridge coursework and examinations

Johanna Delgado received the Top in Country (USA) award for having the highest score in the United States of America for English. Jacob Treat, Kennedy Ochs, and Paul Petersen earned a Scholar Award of Merit, which honors those who have passed at least three exams with a score of B or higher on the Cambridge IGCSE exams. The Cambridge Awards celebrate the success of students taking Cambridge examinations around the world.  More than a million students study Cambridge International programs in over 160 countries. This year, Willow Canyon had 45 sophomores take 69 Cambridge exams, and current juniors have passed 313 tests over the course of two school years. Of the current juniors, 23 qualify for the Grand Canyon Diploma, 22 have earned Scholar awards and 11 have earned Merit awards.

“At Willow Canyon, we are focused on having a ‘Winning Culture’ each and every day. These awards recognize the amazing talent, dedication and commitment of our students and staff towards this goal,” said Principal Dr. Adam Schwartz. “What an honor to have students excelling at such a high level both nationally and internationally!”

Willow Canyon has seen great success in student passing rates, with the majority of Cambridge students going on to take International Baccalaureate (IB) and/or Advanced Placement (AP) courses and graduating in the top ranks of their class.

“Our Cambridge program is a perfect foundation for our IB and AP students, whether they are working towards a full IB Diploma or just taking certain IB classes,” said Wendy Goetchius, Willow Canyon’s Cambridge Coordinator.

Mark Cavone, Cambridge International Regional Director, North America said: “It is extremely rewarding to congratulate Cambridge students and teachers at Willow Canyon High School who have worked so hard to achieve tremendous success in Cambridge courses and examinations. The results reflect the enormous talent in Dysart Schools, not only amongst students, but also within the teaching profession. Students from Dysart Schools have a bright future ahead of them, and I wish them every success in the future”

About Willow Canyon High School’s Cambridge Program

The Willow Canyon High School Cambridge Program began in 2012, and is the only high school in the district offering Cambridge courses. Each year over 200 students at the school are enrolled in Cambridge classes.  Many Willow Canyon Cambridge students qualify for the Grand Canyon Diploma. While many of these qualifiers choose to stay in high school and work on their academic goals before moving on to college, since 2012 four students have chosen to graduate early with the Grand Canyon Diploma.  In 2021, 12 students earned the full IB Diploma.

About Cambridge Assessment International Education

As a global organization with a 160-year history and part of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge Assessment International Education partners with schools and districts around the world with a shared goal of making education transformation a reality. High schools across the U.S. now utilize the Cambridge Advanced program. This program is part of an internationally benchmarked program that allows students to earn college-level credit in high school. Cambridge International uniquely provides an instructional system across four stages (Primary through Advanced) aligning rigorous curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment for all students in grades K-12.