Eight Villa Madonna Academy students have earned Advanced Placement Capstone Diplomas after completing the College Board’s AP Capstone program, a research-intensive coursework designed to prepare students for college-level work.

Two of the students, Izzie Ramundo and Brandon Campling, are part of the graduating class of 2024. The remaining students – Rylie Bond, Sophie Cordonnier, Quinn Holtzman, Caitlyn Ingram, Maya Kondik and Isaac Stricker – are part of the graduating class of 2025.

The Capstone Diploma Program is a multi-year program run by the College Board, the same company that creates both the Advanced Placement, or AP, exams and the SAT.

The program requires students to complete extensive research projects on specific topics as part of the AP Seminar and AP Research programs, which are designed to prepare students for academic research. Students must then take at least four more AP Subject Exams. To earn a Capstone Diploma, students must earn at least a 3 in the seminar and research courses and the subject exams (courses are graded on a scale of 1 to 5).

The projects help develop students’ critical thinking, research skills, public speaking and project management skills.

“Congratulations to the thousands of students who have worked so hard to earn AP Capstone Diplomas and AP Seminar and Research Certificates,” said Trevor Packer, director of the Advanced Placement program, in the same press release. “These students are setting the stage for their future academic and professional careers by learning sought-after skills in project management, presentation, collaboration and research.”

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