This past hectic year of COVID-19 had not affected the ability of 87 of our cougars from obtaining their AICE Diplomas and the accompanying Bright Future’s scholarship. All AICE students at the end of the 2019-2020 school year were required to create portfolios from their classwork rather than taking the normal AICE Exam due to the pandemic. As such, the results of these AICE portfolios allowed 87 total students at Somerset Academy Canyons (SAC) to meet the requirements for their AICE Diplomas. 2019-2020 is the first school year in which over 25% of the graduating class at SAC had earned this scholarship.

A total of 30 students had earned their regular AICE Diploma. 50 students earned their AICE Diploma with Merit. Seven students earned their AICE Diploma with Distinction. The varying degrees of their diploma is determined by the number of AICE points they receive from each exam they take. The AICE Diploma at Pass level requires a range between 140-249 points. The AICE Diploma with ‘Merit’, however, requires a range between 250-359 points. The AICE Diploma with ‘Distinction’, a truly high accomplishment, requires a point range between 360-420 points. For comparison, in the 2018-2019 school year, only 39 students earned this honor.

The AICE Diploma is earned by passing seven AICE level classes with at least one point in each of the four groups including Mathematics and Sciences, Languages, Arts and Humanities, and Interdisciplinary Subjects. Students must also pass AICE Global Perspectives and Research, which is a separate required category from the other four. Also, students must amass a total of 100 community service hours in the three years that they are working to achieve their AICE Diplomas. If students meet all these requirements, then they will be guaranteed their Academic level Florida Bright Futures Scholarship. This scholarship awards them free tuition and money for textbooks at any Florida State University, and select schools throughout the U.S.

“We are so proud of our 87 Somerset Canyons students that earned this high honor.” (https://www.somersetcanyons.com/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=669708&id=1) “Congratulations and excellent job to all of our students and teachers!”