APsolutely fantastic opportunities.

By giving students a chance to look at AP courses on Jan. 11., team ASAP wants to provide all students with an equal shot at success.

“It’s about AP opportunities for everyone,” said Dale Leibforth, AP success manager, “We want to give everyone a chance at AP classes and success.”

Team ASAP, a mostly student-run club, wants to give every student at ETHS an equal opportunity to participate and succeed in an AP course. “The leaders of team ASAP meet with [the sponsors] outside of the monthly meetings to design activities to help other students,” Tina Lulla team ASAP facilitator said, “It’s their way to help each other.”

Team ASAP hosts the AP fair to allow students to talk to teachers and students about the course, what the workload is like, and what to expect when they sign up. Team ASAP also provides a support group for those in AP classes. Throughout the year in their monthly meetings, the leaders decide on a topic that would help members get ready for exams or help reduce stress levels. Students who are not in AP courses are still welcomed to see what their peers in AP classes are experiencing.

There can be some negative impacts of taking too many AP classes with increased stress and anxiety, many students overload on AP courses because they want the grade bump, even if they may not be ready for a rigorous course.

“I think a lot of kids want to take AP’s because they know so many people in them,” senior Clio Hancock, team ASAP leader said.

According to Denise Pope, an education expert at Stanford, AP classes have been shown to help kids in college. Pope also suggests that AP classes have to be inclusive or else students can’t learn from everyone, and have a positive experience, meaning the demographics of AP classes really do matter. Studies have shown that AP courses can be exclusive and not diverse. Team ASAP works on getting rid of this exclusion to include all students who want to participate.

The AP fair will be held on Jan. 11 in the main lobby during all lunch periods. There will be 34 different AP courses with tables and information at the event.