Akron Public Schools is looking to add new advanced courses at three schools to increase academic rigor and access to higher-level courses for more students.
Buchtel Community Learning Center’s high school will add Advanced Placement Pre-Calculus next fall, pending school board approval. It’s a new course from College Board, the national nonprofit that creates AP classes, and Buchtel requested to have it added as an option, Yvonne Culver, a coordinator for college and career access, told the board’s instructional policy committee last week.
Buchtel, along with Litchfield CLC in the Firestone cluster, will also add a new Pre-AP math class for middle school students, a new concept for the district that leaders hope can spread to all Akron middle schools.
The district has long been working toward addressing inequities that have existed between clusters within Akron schools, and offering more advanced classes in schools that have historically had fewer of them — and better preparing those students to take harder classes — has been a long-term goal. Culver said the district is “working to raise the rigor so that our students have access to college,” whether they decide to go or not.