A recent staff meeting proposed new ideas for the AP program at Granite Hills. Dr. John Snavely will be coming to Granite Hills to discuss whether Granite should keep their AP classes with low numbers.

The recent meeting about the Granite Hills Advanced Placement program has proposed for many new changes and ideas for the program. Staff will also have a meeting today with Superintendent John Snavely concerning the number of AP classes Granite will have next year.

One concern from the Granite Hills staff is the cutting of some AP classes. Due to the budget cuts, AP classes with less than 20 people may be cut from the program. This rule may be crucial to some of the science classes such as AP Chemistry and AP Physics, which only have about 10-15 students sign up each year.
 
"I want a science career, so AP physics would be great for me and it's going to suck if it's gone," AP student Sara Hilliard said, who plans to take AP physics next year.

Other Granite Hills' AP courses with low numbers of students could be cut from the program also, such as calculus, art history, Spanish language, and Spanish literature.

"We do not want to loose a single class which gives students an opportunity to take a college course," AP coordinator Arlina Gillett said.

Some teachers are willing to take any student just interested in the class so that they can fill in the numbers.
 
"I am willing to take in students who aren't honor students in my class to have enough numbers," AP art history teacher Michal Reed said.

But despite this statement, Reed is certain that the district will not cut the AP classes with low numbers from the program.

The presentation will take place Tuesday, April 15. The purpose of this meeting is to persuade Snavely to keep all of the AP classes, even if the classes have low numbers of students; it will let him know how crucial it is for the Granite Hills' students and staff to have these AP courses.

The cutting of some AP courses may also affect the Granite Hills pass rate. In 2007, Granite Hills had the highest pass rate in the district for AP chemistry, AP Biology, AP government and politics, AP Spanish language, and AP Spanish literature.

AP classes have been shown to help students throughout high school and beyond high school. Some alumni say that taking AP classes have really helped them in college.

“"I think, most of all, that learning to balance the stressful workload of multiple AP classes in high school, is what helped me to maintain my sanity this past semester [of college]," alumnus Cassaundria Pierro said.

Levi Reynaga, a Granite Hills’ alumni and math major at California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo, took AP Calculus his senior year and said it was a great help to him in college.

“I didn't pass AP Calculus, but it prepared me for the first quarter of Calculus over here,” he said.

Next year, each AP teacher will be assigned 10-15 AP students, who are not in AVID, to mentor throughout high school. This way the students will have someone who will guide them through high school and show them what types of classes to take to get them into college, and how to get into college.

Staff would also like to have college tours for the AP students, similar to the ones that the AVID students have.

“A lot of our AP students have not been given that opportunity [to visit colleges,” Gillett said.

Another idea proposed at the meeting was an AP parent night. According to Reed, the night's purpose will be to let the parents of AP students know how demanding the classes are.

AP students will also be given T-shirts at the end of the year with an AP logo on the front and a slogan on the back such as “I survived AP!”