A Clarke Central High School student looks at the CCHS student registration website in Room 231 on April 24. CCHS students were able to register for Advanced Placement Seminar and AP African American Studies, two new additions to the CCSD program of study, during course registration in January. “I think it’s important to have both of these classes because (AP Seminar) teaches you how to prepare for life and the AP African American Studies teaches you about history that you were never really taught in other history classes,” CCHS sophomore Gillian Williams said. Photo by Aza Khan
CCHS introduced new Advanced Placement classes during course registration for the 2024-25 school year that may be on students’ schedules next year.
Next year, Clarke Central High School students may have the chance to take two new Advanced Placement classes.
AP African American Studies and AP Seminar are courses offered by college preparation organization College Board and implemented in the CCSD program of study for the 2024-25 school year. In January, students had the option to register for both classes for the first time.
The AP African American Studies curriculum examines diverse African American experiences stretching from the roots of early African civilization roughly 3,000 years ago to present-day experiences and challenges. In the AP Seminar class, the focus is skill-based learning, as students develop academic communication, research powers and peer collaboration skills.
An infographic of the new Advanced Placement classes being offered at Clarke Central High School for the 2024-25 school year is shown. AP African American Studies and AP Seminar were offered as options during course registration in January, further diversifying students’ choices when it comes to picking classes. “I hope that (offering these classes) opens up access to students that might not have ever thought they wanted to take an AP class,” CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith said. “And I hope that it increases the rigor for our students and helps prepare kids for college and then diversifies their experience here in high school.” Graphic by Lea D’Angelo
“We don’t have any classes that focus on the African American experience. The AP African American Studies class is just a very different classroom (compared) to anything we have,” CCHS Associate Principal Dr. Summer Smith said. “The AP Seminar class is a very different type of class that increases the rigor in terms of the skills that you need to succeed in college.”
CCHS Assistant Scheduler Alexis Scott, who schedules students’ courses, feels these classes, if finalized onto next year’s schedule, would help prepare students for the demands of higher-level coursework they may encounter later in life.
“(The new AP classes) provide more opportunities for students to get involved with AP-level courses that aren’t necessarily for a core class. I think these classes will allow students to have that opportunity at the high school level rather than waiting until they get to college,” Scott said.
However, these classes aren’t guaranteed to be on students’ schedules next year, even if students registered for them during spring registration. For a class to make, a certain number of students must register for said class — if that requirement is not met, the class will not be offered and students won’t have the opportunity to take it.
“AP African American Studies is pretty solid. There’s plenty of requests, so that class is going to make,” Smith said. “AP Seminar, I don’t know if it’s gonna make, there just wasn’t the interest that I was hoping there would be.”
“(The new AP classes) provide more opportunities for students to get involved with AP-level courses that aren’t necessarily for a core class.”
— Alexis Scott,
CCHS Assistant Scheduler
Ultimately, course schedules for next year won’t be finalized until July, meaning students who registered for the classes won’t know if they are available until then. However, CCHS sophomore Gillian Williams hopes the classes will be offered.
“(AP Seminar) gives students more preparedness, especially for college or if students go straight into the workforce after high school,” Williams said. “With (AP) African American Studies, I think a bunch of kids are gonna like it because history is something that is continuously changing, and it never stays the same. It gives you more opportunities to learn and be put in somebody else’s shoes.”
