SCHS administration and faculty have spent the previous years working to increase the accessibility of academically challenging coursework. Many feel, however, that one set of classes has been left behind: AP Capstone.
AP Capstone is a set of two self-guided, research-based courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. Students who pass both AP exams and four additional AP exams earn the exclusive AP Capstone Diploma. According to AP Seminar teacher Arielle Martinka, the vast majority of students pursuing the AP Capstone Diploma are doing so as a requirement from the 49ers STEM Leadership Institute.
“I currently have two periods of AP Seminar, with a total of 61 students. Of those 61 students, three are not in the SLI program,” Martinka said.
One reason SLI students make up the majority of the AP Seminar classes is that the course is promoted to SLI students like junior Zoe Reyes Laughery as early as seventh grade.
“We are taught about it (AP Seminar) in extended hours…. The juniors teach the sophomores what’s going to happen in Seminar, and the seniors teach the juniors what’s going to happen in Research,” Reyes Laughery said. “They don’t do that for any other students, so honestly, how are students supposed to know that class exists?”
Senior Danna Cruz is one of only three students in the class of 2025 who enrolled in AP Seminar without being enrolled in the SLI program. For her, finding the class was serendipitous.
“I was just looking through all of the courses, and I randomly popped up upon AP Research,” Cruz said. “I honestly didn’t know what I was signing myself up for, other than the fact that I knew I wanted to get my Capstone (diploma) after looking into and researching the Capstone program.”
Because AP Capstone is not advertised to many students, they do not know about its unique benefits. According to Martinka, AP Seminar, in particular, teaches skills and content simultaneously to maximize student’s ability to implement what they have learned.
“I’ve always wanted to improve the way that I teach critical thinking and building reason in students. A whole class devoted to it seemed like a really awesome opportunity to go for,” Martinka said.
Students in the AP Capstone classes also recognize the benefits of their coursework.
“I wouldn’t have chosen to take this class, but I’m so glad that I am taking it. I have learned so much.” Reyes Laughery said. “I’ve been able to implement that in my AP Lang class and really improve my linguistic skills.”
Most SLI students have known each other since middle school and have often worked with AP Capstone teachers outside of school hours. Because SLI students make up the majority of students in AP Seminar and AP Research, students outside of the program may feel excluded.
“I definitely feel like the minority. I am kind of like this minnow in a shark tank that doesn’t really know everyone around me, and isn’t familiar with the teachers,” Cruz said. “I’m just this new face.”
With more information about AP Capstone, students outside of the SLI program could better determine whether or not AP Capstone is right for them.
“I think the skills are important, and I think any student could benefit from building these skills,” Martinka said. “But it is also extra work, and people need to balance their lives and not just take APs just because there’s more APs to take.”
Though it may seem intimidating to students outside of the SLI program, Cruz feels more students should consider taking AP Seminar.
“If you have the opportunity to take AP Seminar, I one hundred percent encourage you to do it. It was such a good bang for your buck class,” Cruz said.