As Summit High School sophomores received their 2023-2024 schedules, some noticed they were dropped from AP Art History, a class they had forecasted for, increasing stress for underclassmen if they planned for an honors diploma. In said honors diploma, five capstone classes are required to graduate with it. However, Summit High School only offers one AP class to sophomores, and none to freshmen who aren’t already ahead of their grade level class.
Justin Richards, a Summit sophomore who had forecasted for the AP class said, “I think that AP Art History was a class that should’ve remained available. It would’ve been a suitable alternative to AP Seminar. I also think that there should be more options than even those two, in case sophomores want to get more college credit and improve their GPA.”
The dropped class has sparked confusion and concerns. Richards continues, “I don’t understand why we can’t. APs also help us if we have careers we want to go into in the future. ”
While the exact reason the class was dropped for tenth graders isn’t necessarily known, the lack in capstone freshman and sophomore classes could lead to future stressed juniors and seniors. These upperclassmen could have already planned to stretch out their capstone credits, but may be dropped from either AP class available to sophomores.
Ashlyn Rotgé—a Summit sophomore aiming for an honors diploma—said, “The curriculum is making it difficult to achieve that goal,” she says that taking an AP class in sophomore year could create less pressure, but there’s only one class available that not everyone is interested in. So why cancel a class for a grade that could be beneficial? Summit students may be missing more opportunities if other classes possibly drop.
