in a wide range of academic subject areas. Students are able to study courses in Art, Business Education, ESL, Family & Consumer Sciences, English, Mathematics, Music, Physical Education & Health, Science, Social Studies, Special Education, Technology Education, and World Languages. More than 200 courses and 17 AP programs are offered. The rigor of courses at the school follows a four level setup: Advanced Placement (AP), Accelerated, Honors, and College Prep. Many juniors and seniors challenge themselves in the numerous Advanced Placement courses offered by the school. These include: AP English Language & Composition, AP English Literature & Composition, AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, AP Music Theory & Composition, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Environmental Science, AP Physics 1, AP Physics C: Mechanics, AP US History, AP European History, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, AP US Government & Politics, AP French Language, AP Chinese Language, and AP Spanish Language, and AP Capstone (AP Seminar and AP Research). In the 2010–2011 school year, Penncrest also added Mandarin Chinese to its course offerings, attracting enough students to fill two classes. Since the 2013 school year, sophomores have been permitted to take select AP courses including AP Physics 1, AP Statistics, AP seminar, and AP European History. Notable alumni Jeff Ayars, American filmmaker and actor Stephen Bloom, a Representative of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives. Paul DiMeo, cast member of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Michael A. O'Donnell, Ph.D., award-winning author and international scholar. Kenneth A. Oye, political science professor at MIT and early contributor to regime theory. Robert Engle, American economist and the winner of the 2003 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Ronald Yeaw, US Navy SEAL and former commander of Seal Team Six Auston Trusty, professional soccer player for the Colorado Rapids Jonah Jackson, NFL player for the Detroit Lions. Bill Whitaker, television journalist and a correspondent on the CBS News program 60 Minutes. References External links Penncrest High School Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Public high schools in Pennsylvania Educational institutions established in 1955 Schools in Delaware County, Pennsylvania 1955 establishments in Pennsylvania