January 25th, 2009
Which local high school offers the most Advanced Placement classes, upper-level courses that give students an opportunity to earn college credit?
A. Sprague
B. West Salem
C. McKay
D. North Salem
The answer, you might be surprised to learn, is C.
McKay, the school known more for low test scores and having the most diverse and impoverished student population, has more AP classes than any other in Salem-Keizer School District.
“When you look at the socioeconomic set, it’s amazing how much we get students and teachers here working at the college level,” said Leif McElliott, who teaches AP English literature at McKay. “We arguably have one of the leading programs in state.”
The AP program is run by The College Board — which also administers the SAT — and offers high school students a chance to earn college credit, stand out in the college admissions process and, most importantly, gain skills that will help them succeed in college.
AP classes are more rigorous and demanding than regular classes. Students in AP classes can expect twice the reading and homework, more in-depth discussions, a focus on analytical thinking and essay writing, and even summer reading lists.
All six high schools in Salem-Keizer School District have AP programs, or variations. South Salem has an International Baccalaureate program.
McKay offers 16 AP courses, from art history to U.S. government and politics. North Salem is second with 14, according to information obtained from the school district office.
“If kids really want to pursue the AP curriculum, they’re going to find the teachers and classmates that are competitive with any high-end school in the state,” McElliott said. “It’s hard to say you’re going to find any better anywhere else.”
McKay has 363 students enrolled in AP classes, and 302 in 13 Honors classes. Honors classes are developed to meet the needs of accelerated students, but without an opportunity to earn college credit. These classes can help prepare a student for the AP program.
Several of McKay’s students are enrolled in more than one AP class. Some, such as senior Claire Roth, take heavy course loads. Roth currently has AP calculus, AP chemistry, AP literature and AP U.S. history on her schedule.
The program is not intended for just straight-A students. No minimum grade-point average is required. Most students enroll in AP classes after a teacher’s recommendation, but McKay’s program is accessible to anyone who is willing to be challenged. That mirrors the recent philosophy of The College Board.
“It used to be about being a sieve and shaking out the numbers, making sure you only have the best of the best in the program,” McElliott said. “Now it’s not out of the range for a lot of kids, kids who 10-15 years ago wouldn’t have been looked at twice for our program.
“You can see the diversity. That’s McKay reality.”
McElliott’s eighth-period AP literature class is a microcosm of the school population, of which about 64 percent is non-white. Several Hispanic students are in the class.
The class also has a good mix of students involved in extracurricular activities, including athletes, band members and leaders in student government.
Jordan Carter, a star basketball player, and Carly Laursen, the lead drum major for the marching band, were key players during a classroom discussion last week on the concept of morality in comedies versus tragedies. This is the same class that had a summer reading list, including “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by William Shakespeare.
The workload in McKay’s AP classes is demanding. Teachers warn students and parents to expect double the homework that would be assigned in “survey” classes, or regular classes in the same subject. Discussions are more in-depth, and projects necessitate analytical thinking.
“It basically requires students to think and function at a higher level,” said Scott Evers, who teaches AP European history.
In his two classes, for example, he gives students a piece of art and they have to do a formal presentation on what the artwork says about the historical period. The most recent assignment was the Renaissance. Another project in his class involves students creating a six-frame cartoon based on an event from The Age of Religious Wars.
In AP psychology, students are discussing sleep and dreams, including the iceberg theory of consciousness. On the white board, teacher Michael Ernest has reminded students they must be able to describe the effects of sleep and dreams on behavior, attitude and consciousness.
In AP art history, teacher Lisa Leirmo facilitates study sessions outside of classroom time.
In AP Spanish, students study more grammar, write essays in the language, and get familiar with different dialects.
Teacher Vincent Cimino described it as a fifth-year Spanish class — McKay offers Spanish I-IV — equivalent to a third-year college Spanish course.
“Students who say, ‘I know Spanish, I’m going to take the AP class,’ they’re in for a surprise,” Cimino said.
He currently has 27 students, but started with 40. Only one student is white. Most are “heritage learners.” Their parents speak Spanish, and they grew up speaking the language, but may not have had any schooling in the language.
In AP chemistry, which has 12 students, the topic of the day during a recent visit was reaction mechanisms. The difference between this class and the regular chemistry class, teacher Teresa Mills said, “is the math and the time we spend on equilibrium. We’ll get much more quantitative in AP.”
Her AP students get to use equipment that is not made available to her regular classes, such as melting pot tubes (which cost $50 each) and magnetic stirrers. In regular chemistry, students have to stir by hand.
Mills, who was recruited in 1997 to help start the AP chemistry program at McKay, said it’s important to find a balance between content and demands.
“It gives them a chance to experience a little bit of the college level,” Mills said. “But they are still just high school kids.”
A visit to McElliott’s AP lit class offered a reminder. When asked to name two play characters who committed fratricide — which means the act of killing one’s brother —there were answers like “that guy from Hamlet” and “uncle what’s his face.”
Not all students survive the rigor, as was the case in AP Spanish.
“We are tough on them, and there are kids who wash out; I’m not going to lie,” McElliott said. “They’re not quite ready. It doesn’t mean they’re not college bound, just that APwasn’t their thing yet.”
Classes are intended to prepare students to take AP exams, which is where earning college credit comes in.
In European history, for example, students who pass the AP exam get eight credit hours, Evers said, or the equivalent to about $1,500 in college credit. The tests, like the classes, are difficult. Evers said the national average pass-rate for AP European history is 50-55 percent.
“What’s more important to me is that they learn what it takes to succeed at the college level,” Evers said. “If you pass the test, that’s icing on the cake.”
McElliott recommends all his students take the AP exam, because “it’s a personal measurement of where you are.”
Last year at McKay, he said 154 different students took AP exams. “Those are the numbers we’re proud of.”
There are no charges for AP classes, but it costs to take the respective tests. The fee is $86 per AP exam. Financial assistance from The College Board and from the state of Oregon can reduce the cost for students who qualify. McKay’s National Honor Society holds fundraisers to help students who can’t afford AP exam fees.
McKay’s AP program will expand next year to include AP Spanish literature, the first of its kind in the school district.
“We have the students, we have the population,” said Alex Gutierrez, who is expected to teach the two sections. “I think it’s a good way to promote culture for all the Hispanic kids. They speak Spanish and write Spanish, but that doesn’t mean they know about their culture, the authors, the books.”
He said the course will focus on at least one author from each Latin American country, and the students will learn about the authors’ lives, their books, their countries and their traditions.
While adding an AP course is good news, the bad news is that McKay each year loses potential AP students from its feeder schools who choose to transfer to another high school. The transfers are allowed because McKay doesn’t meet federal academic standards.
And it doesn’t help that McKay continues to suffer from the stigma of once being on the persistently dangerous list.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say our AP program has been hurt by the negative public relations,” Evers said. “I still feel you get as good a quality education in our honors, AP track as in any other school in Salem-Keizer.”
clynn@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6710
