Student enrollment in AP classes has increased more than 500 percent since 2007, according to school documents from Principal Gregory Shelby. This substantially bridges a five-year gap between the AP programs at SC and Wilcox.
Although many characteristics of the schools are comparable, according to data from the California Department of Education, SC still lagged behind in their AP program. This is no longer the case.
SC’s total AP enrollment in 2007 was 161 students. Currently, that number is 846 students.
“Over the past five years, we have seen a massive scene change in the number of students here at Santa Clara who are participating in AP and who are taking advantage of AP courses,” said Shelby.
Before this scene change began, according to Shelby, Wilcox’s AP program was much farther ahead than SC’s.
Shelby also said that one of his biggest initiatives this year will be to establish AP Chemistry at SC. To establish the class, the school needs to pay for certification and curriculum. The school also needs a student base.
Currently, Shelby said, the school is arranging the financial aspects of establishing AP Chemistry.
Meanwhile, Wilcox is also building their AP Program. According to Wilcox’s principal, Bonnie Billings, the school added AP Physics C and AP Computer Science A this fall, giving them a total choice of 25 weighted classes. SC currently has a total of 18 weighted courses.
The only advanced placement class individual to SC is AP German. Advanced placement classes individual to Wilcox include AP Chemistry, AP Spanish Literature, and AP Studio Art.
“It’s not like I keep a score card of how many AP classes are at Santa Clara and how many AP classes are at Wilcox,” said Billings. What she does make a priority is tallying the number of underrepresented students participating in advanced coursework.
Billings, a proponent of mathematics and science, pushes to establish those AP classes at Wilcox to give more opportunities to the more than 70 percent of the students body who are minority students. PSAT scores from these groups of students, according to Billings, indicate that they deserve higher-level coursework.
SC also has a demand for AP courses. More than 25 students in Kathy Denise’s AP Spanish Language class drew up a petition to establish an AP Spanish Literature class.
“I want to be able to learn more about Spanish literature,” sophomore Michelle Garcia said. A signer of the petition and a native Spanish speaker, she also added she wanted to be able to have more years of practice.
Currently, the art department at SC has no AP classes. However, head of the art department Neil Woodman is willing to take the time to become certified to teach AP Studio Art.
“I’d be willing to take the time, if the school had the money,” Woodman said. According to Shelby, AP certification can cost anywhere from $400 to $1,000.
AP certification also requires teachers to complete a rigorous training program in a single subject, according to the College Board. These rigorous development courses are offered by many different institutions, like San Jose State University.
Senior Sinho Chewi, a student who has taken almost all AP options the school has to offer, feels that a lack of variety is not of the utmost importance. “Even though Wilcox has more AP classes, Santa Clara already has some primary core AP classes,” said Chewi.