A course could be returning to campus after several students have advocated for the return of AP Chemistry.
When planning their schedules, students learned the AP chemistry course would no longer be offered at the end of the 2023-2024 school year, opting instead to offer OnRamps Chemistry for students involved in advanced academics.
“I probably had about seven or eight students wondering how they could sign up,” chemistry teacher Emily Nichols said. “They were really reducing the stress on me having to teach Pre-AP, OnRamps and AP Chemistry, in the hopes that once I got my feet underneath me with OnRamps Chem, we would be able to bring AP Chemistry back.”
OnRamps Chem has fewer units and covers less material. While it is still a viable option for those interested in an advanced chemistry class, it is not what every student is looking for.
“I want to have a career in chemistry, so I want to take a class that will prepare me for chemistry in college,” junior Chau Nyguen said.
Nyguen opted to wait until AP Chem was offered before taking an advanced chemistry class. Other students said they prefer AP courses in general, leading them to wait as well.
“AP classes present more of a challenge,” junior Emerson Pond said. “That just produces more of an effect for me in the college run.”
Nichols said she feels it is important to offer AP in conjunction with OnRamps again next year to meet the needs of different students. Since both curriculums are unique, she said it makes it difficult to substitute for one another.
AP Chemistry is planned to be made available again for upperclassmen next school year, but it could depend on how many students are interested in enrolling in the course.
“I received an email stating that AP Chemistry is going to be put into course selection,” Nicholas said. “The next step that has to happen is students have to sign up to show there is interest in the course.” “We need to offer AP chemistry because students who are doing a medical and engineering pathway need that AP chemistry so they have a good, rock-solid foundation of chemistry when they go to college.”
