The Rotary Club of McHenry Charitable Foundation, Inc. presented a check to the McHenry School District 156 for $3,000 in support of its Advanced Placement (AP) Program testing. AP courses and exams can help students earn college credit while still in high school and strengthen their college applications.  In other words, high school students have the option of taking advanced placement college courses and if they test above a certain level, such students can earn college credit hours.
  
However, there are costs associated with the AP testing program.  The Rotary Club of McHenry has provided grants to support such testing program at the McHenry School District 156.  We believe this is an excellent investment in our community’s high school students. 
 
Here is why:  An AP test costs around $93, but could earn the student 3 college credit hours. Assuming an average student takes 15 college credit hours during a typical college semester and the average college tuition per year is $20,000, then our $3,000 donation could help to fund the equivalent of approximately 3 years of full time college. Here is the potential of such grant to the AP program.  $3,000/$93 = 32.25 tests = 32.25 x 3 credit hours = 96.8 credit hours = 96.8 credit hours/30 credit hours per year = 3.2 years of college (spread across numerous students) = 3.2 years x $20,000 per year = $64,500 in saved tuition for such students.  Note: if the students go to more expensive schools, the cost savings is higher.  These are just approximate numbers, but they illustrate that the AP program can greatly benefit qualified students. 
 
The largest fundraiser of the Rotary Club of McHenry Charitable Foundation, Inc. is Blues, Brews and Barbecue which is scheduled at Petersen Park on August 18, 19 and 20, 2017.  The Rotary Club of McHenry and such Club’s Members formed the Rotary Club of McHenry Charitable Foundation, Inc. (an Illinois not for profit corporation which is also a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) to fund ongoing charitable/service operations on a tax exempt basis and to ensure continued sustainability of the Club’s charitable/service operations.  The Club and its Charitable Foundation develop, improve and maintain the cultural, recreational, economic, educational and social welfare of people in the greater McHenry area (and throughout the world).
 
Pictured (from left to right) are Ryan McTague (Dist 156 Superintendent), Maddie Weaver (AP student), Terry Fitzgibbons (standing in the second row, Associate Principal, West Campus), Jessica Long (AP student), Cole Petty (AP student), Tague Sode (AP student), Martha Potthoff (Principal), Bill McLemore (Club President), and Ron Bykowski (Foundation Chair)