Leon High teacher and student propose districtwide AP Capstone research symposium

At the May 13 Leon County School Board meeting, Leon High AP Capstone teacher Sarah Marquez and junior student Zoe Shoplock described the district’s AP Capstone sequence and asked the board to consider creating a district-level interdisciplinary research symposium for Capstone students.

Marquez said AP Capstone consists of two core classes—AP Seminar and AP Research—and requires students to pass exams for four additional AP courses to earn the diploma. “In AP Research, students make real contributions to the academic community by designing a research project that addresses an academic gap, collecting data once their project is approved for ethicality by an IRB board, and analyzing that data in a 4,000 word research paper,” Marquez said.

Zoe Shoplock described her year-long research placement at Florida State University’s rare disease research program under Dr. Jonathan Dennis, saying she logged about 300 hours of lab work and expects to publish in an international journal this summer. “Being there has allowed me to understand what I want to do when I’m older,” Shoplock said.

Marquez asked the board to consider an interdisciplinary research symposium so Capstone students across the district could present original research to the broader community and partner with local universities, which might provide mentoring and judging similar to a state-level history fair. Board members expressed interest; one board member asked staff to include district staff in follow-up planning. The superintendent’s office indicated assistant superintendent Cypher will follow up with the presenters.

During the discussion, a board member mentioned recent legislative proposals that could reduce K–12 support for advanced programs; the board noted funding threats as context for expanding student research opportunities.

No board action was taken; the proposal was presented for consideration and staff follow-up.