Trenton May Drop AP Classes Because of Budget Cuts

Trenton Public Schools might offer fewer Advance Placement classes next year due to lowered enrollment and , despite earning praise from the College Board this year.

Advance Placement classes require a certain number of students to enroll in order to offer a class, but Superintendent John Savel said the minimum student requirement could be larger than ever before.

Savel said though classes won’t be canceled, they may not be offered every year.

“We will either have to have more kids to sign up or we would have to offer some of the classes every other year,” Savel said.

In March, Trenton was honored on the College Board's Achievement List for significant gains in advance placement and student performance.

According to Savel, the district is one of fewer than 400 in the nation to be honored by the board. The honor recognizes schools for opening Advanced Placement classrooms to a broader pool of students, while maintaining or improving the percentage of students with scores high enough to receive college credit.

Savel said he is very proud of the honor.

“This is a truly remarkable accomplishment by both our students and our teachers,” Savel said. “Not only have these students successfully completed an advanced course, 60 percent of those students were able to earn college credit.”

Savel added that counselors and AP teachers are currently recruiting heavily to get as many students enrolled in the classes as possible so the district can offer more classes.

From 2008 to 2010, the district has increased the number of students participating in Advanced Placement classes from 42 to 97, while improving the percentage of students receiving scores high enough to receive college credit from 50 percent in 2008 to 60 percent in 2010, according to information provided by Trenton Public Schools.

The College Board is a nonprofit organization founded in 1900 in order to expand access to higher education.

. Some of the teachers to be laid off teach the honored Advanced Placement courses.

Savel said some of the teachers could be called back, depending on which Advanced Placement courses students select.

He added he is unsure how many students will be required to enroll in order for each Advanced Placement class to remain available every year, but the number is likely going to be higher than last year. Last year the minimum amount of students required to offer an Advanced Placement class was 16, though Savel said the classes often had more students than the minimum requirement.