Kentwood — From inspiring other students to learn their true academic potential to helping increase diversity in Advanced Placement courses, students recently shared their reasons for serving as ambassadors for the East Kentwood High School AP program.
The 38 designated ninth- through 12th-grade AP Ambassadors organized and hosted an evening AP Night for peers and parents. The event showcased information on their school’s 23 AP courses in the subject areas of art, math, science, language arts, computer science, social studies and language. The event also included entertainment by high school musicians and food by students in the culinary arts program.
“This is our effort to get more students involved in AP classes so they know what AP classes are, so we can get rid of the stigma that only smart kids can do AP classes,” said freshman Mia Fisher, who is in the AP U.S. History class. “I wanted to get involved with this because I am very passionate about being a leader and helping students get the help that they need or want.”
The ambassadors said they’ve found success in AP courses, even after being nervous about enrolling in them. Many plan to graduate with a transcript filled with AP courses, boosting their preparedness for college and pre-earned credits.
Junior Kimani Brame said she was happy to tout the benefits of AP at the most diverse high school in Michigan.
“Our whole point is trying to diversify our AP classrooms (to reflect) how diverse our school is,” said Kimani, who is currently taking five AP courses and plans to graduate with 13. “We find it very important to diversify our AP classes because we think that anybody can take AP. We are here to encourage people to take APs that cater to their interests.”
‘When students try something difficult and they rise to the challenge, it shows them the next difficult thing is going to be scary but that they can do it.’
– AP Coordinator Molly Mosketti
Assistant Principal Melissa Manning said the idea for AP Night came from student focus groups conducted at East Kentwood, which showed a stigma around AP.
“We realized that there is a certain perception that our students had about who is an AP student,” she said. “We wanted to show our kids what an AP student looks like – ‘they look just like you.’ By sharing their experiences, we are also changing a narrative and changing perceptions.”
Manning said another goal is to make sure students find “the just-right fit” for themselves academically, whether it’s AP classes or not. Data showed that some students who were scoring the highest on the PSAT and SAT tests weren’t taking AP courses. She said making these students aware that they can receive college credits from some classes is important.
Senior and ambassador Glory Ebosele said she was eager to spread the word as much as possible. She didn’t know much about AP her freshman year. She got started with one class her sophomore year and will graduate with nine total AP courses.
“I wish I would have known about it (in ninth grade) because I think I would have done well in the classes, and it would have helped me now and in college too,” she said. “I feel like it’s taught me a lot of structure and how to manage my time. It’s good to have knowledge for the future.”
Growth in Numbers and Offerings
The AP program is run through College Board, an organization founded more than 120 years ago. It also runs the SAT and PSAT programs. AP courses are available in seven subject areas, with each course culminating in an AP exam taken in May. Exams are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 by college and university professors and experienced AP teachers.
Many U.S. colleges offer credit for AP exam scores of 3 or higher, according to information from the College Board website.
The number of East Kentwood students enrolled in at least one AP course has grown from 732 in school year 2022-23 to 1,038 currently, according to information from East Kentwood AP Coordinator Molly Mosketti.
Kentwood Public Schools added four AP courses this school year: AP African American Studies, which was piloted last school year; AP Computer Science Principles; AP Precalculus; and AP Seminar. Students can begin taking AP Computer Science Principles and AP U.S History courses in their freshman year. This year, more than 200 freshmen are enrolled in AP U.S. History alone.
Mosketti said the AP Ambassador program started last school year because students are the best people to talk about the rigor and opportunities the program offers. Ambassadors also have students who are interested in AP shadow them in class. A future possibility in the program is to have students who have completed AP classes tutor those who are currently taking them.
A goal of AP Night, she said, was to help make sure that all students know about AP options. Across all AP courses at East Kentwood, 32% of students are white; 27% are Black; 13% are Hispanic; 20% are Asian and 8% are two or more races.
Kentwood Public School is working with a company called Equal Opportunity Schools to ensure equity in AP.
“A couple years ago you could look into an AP class and see only one or two types of students – meaning races of students,” Mosketti said. “We’ve been really working to increase the number of students. … If (our student population is) 40 percent African American, then we should have 40 percent of our students in AP represented by African American students.”
Removing All Barriers
AP Night offered interpreters for students and parents in the top 10 non-English languages represented at East Kentwood.
“We really want to remove the barrier of, ‘I didn’t know about AP, because they didn’t speak my language,’” Mosketti said. “We really want them, if they are going to try something hard, to give it a try where they are supported. It might unlock all sorts of things for them.”
The district has removed other obstacles as well, including waiving the $99 per exam fee and offering exam administration on site. Students previously took exams at a nearby church and had to provide their own transportation. Offering testing onsite also allows students to eat breakfast and lunch at school on exam days.
Mosketti wants potential students to know they will still earn high school credit even if they don’t score high enough on the AP exam to earn college credit.
“It’s a no-loss situation for students,” Mosketti said. “When students try something difficult and they rise to the challenge, it shows them the next difficult thing is going to be scary but that they can do it.”
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