This past Thursday, an email from the Dean of Students was sent to Stamford High School students informing them that several AP classes would be removed, and were replaced with ECE or IB classes. The classes to be removed for the 2021-2022 school year are as follows: AP Chemistry, AP Biology, AP Psychology, AP English Literature 12, and AP US History.
The guidance department was unaware of this decision earlier this week (the week of 3/7/21) when they advised certain students to take AP US History and AP English Literature 12. This information was also only sent to the students, not the parents, and a lot of SHS students do not check their email that frequently. And why was the student body only informed of this decision with one school day left before course selection? With that being said, the Stamford High community has many concerns regarding this decision.
For one, this puts SHS students and families in economic stress. Even though there are programs to reduce the cost of ECE and IB classes, they still are a financial burden, especially as a student’s junior year rolls around and parents are paying for college tours and SAT tutors. 
The next issue is with the options you have provided SHS students with as a replacement for these AP classes. As stated before, ECE is not an option for everybody, because only UConn is guaranteed to accept these credits, not necessarily the thousands of other accredited universities that our students want to apply to, as these are transfer credits, not AP credits. And IB classes take two years to complete, which makes it an unappealing option for students with a diverse range of interests, and it makes it harder to complete the necessary breakdown of credits needed for graduation. And the junior class (the class of 2022) students who have not started taking IB classes this year, cannot start taking them next year. A prime example of this is regarding AP Psychology, a course that’s only replacement is IB Psychology.
The SHS administration has stated that students can still take AP tests to earn college credits, but this is not sufficient! For one, ECE and IB classes teach ECE and IB curriculums that do not cover AP testing strategies, nor the exact same information that may be needed for these tests. I know from first-hand experience that my AP classes, assignments, and tests are structured to prepare me for my AP exams, and special time is set aside at the end of the year, before AP tests, to prepare. Even if ECE and IB classes will now cover these skills, it will never be the same. And most colleges don't look to see a student’s AP test scores and whether that student took the exam until they are already accepted and it is time to award a student's credits.
We are aware that ECE classes are similar, and that a UConn transcript is provided to college admissions officers, and that colleges will understand that these are the highest level classes offered at SHS, but it is still not fair to the students who have planned on taking these classes, and have selected these AP classes for a reason.
Another one of the concerns we have is about the insufficient communication surrounding this issue. Anecdotally, it’s been said that the BOE’s Teaching and Learning Committee was not informed, certain SHS teachers were unaware, the parents were left in the dark, the guidance counselors were not told about this decision, and some SHS students were unaware.
Lastly, how can you argue that SHS does not have enough student interest to justify offering these classes? How can you determine that there is not enough student interest without polling the student body, or looking at this upcoming year’s course selections, as this process has not begun yet? Historically, these classes had a lot of student interest, and for some of these classes, there is more interest than in the AP classes that will remain offered. In the past, there have been enough certified staff to teach them, so what has changed? One of my own teachers has finally gotten certified to teach AP Chemistry, but suddenly my peers who planned on taking it and my teacher who has put in so much time and effort to become certified are denied the chance to?
This is outrageous and disappointing. The fact that within the last week, my guidance counselor has checked in with me to make sure I will be taking AP US History next year, because they were unaware of this decision, is shocking. This information was slipped in right before course selections start, and has insufficient justification. Students select AP classes for a reason, not with the flip of a coin. We want information. We want justification. And most importantly, we demand change.