By Kate Robak
Calendar Editor
The Manhattan Beach Unified School Board held a workshop on Oct. 17 to discuss Advanced Placement classes, the “middle student” and changes in curriculum, following a Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on the same day.
Many AP teachers spoke about their opinions regarding the direction of the AP classes. Costa staff also discussed prerequisites and waiver forms, but no official curriculum changes were made.
“I want kids to take AP U.S. history if they have a passion for the subject,” AP U.S. history teacher Bill Fauver said. “The current waiver policy traps them.”
The idea of the “middle student,” or a student achieving an average GPA, was another focus at the workshop. English teacher Pam Jenning mentioned the seminar program as a successful way to teach the “middle student.”
“We created the seminar program for the middle student to give him or her more choices for senior English,” Jenning said. “It has been really successful to the point where many students in the junior Honors program choose to go into Senior Seminars rather than take AP English senior year.”
MBUSD staff members also spoke out against the possibility of changing the preexisting prerequisites for AP classes.
“It’s not simply a matter of skill level when it comes to being successful in an AP class,” AP English teacher Alan Zeoli said. “Hard work, time and effort are not necessarily enough to succeed at the highest levels.”
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