The Board of Education approved the addition of two new AP and three honors level classes to the 2026-2027 Piedmont High School curriculum after a fraught, four-hour meeting last Wednesday night. Despite unanimous boardmember support, most students and teachers who spoke at the meeting opposed the move, saying the decision to bump up the number of AP classes in particular will have a negative effect on student wellbeing.
The newly approved courses are AP Business with Personal Finance, AP Research (a corollary to a new AP Seminar class introduced this year), tenth grade Honors English 3-4, Honors Art, and Honors Ceramics. AP Modern World History was originally on the Board agenda but was dropped from consideration prior to the meeting after the history department advocated for an Honors alternative. An AP Cyber Security class was dropped after the Board agreed there did not appear to be enough student interest to justify the course at this time and it wasn’t aligned with the push for humanities classes.
PHS, with 730 students, currently offers 18 AP classes and 15 Honors or dual enrollment classes (for higher level math), according to the school’s 2025-2026 profile. For comparison, Acalanes High School in Lafayette with 1,250 students, has 22 AP classes and nine honors courses, according to their 2024-2025 school profile.
School Board President Lindsay Thomasson said the decision to add additional high level courses to the high school was driven by “significant community interest for many years” in expanding accelerated humanities offerings to balance out advanced STEM class offerings.
The Board also held a first reading of another curriculum change to eliminate the graduation requirement for Ethnic Studies, Computer Science, and Health, a topic that bled into the discussion about adding additional AP classes. The classes will still be offered, but only as electives going forward if the Board formally approves the plan at its next meeting.
Teachers, students decry the AP arms race
“We are asking you to hit the brakes on this mad dash to completely alter the culture of this school if we pile all these AP classes on to the schedule,” APT President Dr. Elise Marks told board members at the meeting’s outset. She said past protocol for adopting new courses took two years and involved consultation with department chairs, students, and teachers in a more collaborative process than occurred this time around.
“We care deeply about how our classes impact our students. We see the stress all the time. The anxiety starts when they sign up [for classes],” said sophomore English teacher Mercedes Foster who has taught at PHS for 20 years. She was joined by other teachers, including David Keller, a longtime AP US History teacher who spoke about the negative effects of “AP fixation” on authentic learning.
Marks, who also teaches AP English Literature to seniors, said even an Honors English option for sophomores was premature, as all students are still developing their writing skills at that stage.
The handful of students who spoke on Wednesday night, including a recent PHS graduate, maintained many students will feel compelled to take as many advanced classes as they can if there’s no cap on the amount.
“At Piedmont, ‘fitting in’ is taking highly accelerated courses and increasing your GPA — being this unachievable student, in my opinion” said PHS senior Mira Sachs on Wednesday night.
“If we prioritize high achievement and academic competition, there’s no way we can prioritize student wellbeing and mental health to the same extent,” said student representative to the Board Hunter Fasteau, holding back tears from the dais.
Are APs a trap or a choice? No one agrees
Some students took to Facebook last week to highlight their concerns about adding more AP classes to the high school curriculum, sparking a lenghty online conversation among parents and teachers. “This constant competition and workload are taking a toll on us, on our mental health, free time, and family life. Students are constantly making sacrifices in high school, a place that should not only promote competition but also growth, which is not related to the amount of APs you take but how much truly learn,” wrote one PHS freshman. The Piedmont Highlander student newspaper also focused on the student perspective — which is more nuanced than appeared in the Board meeting — in its Sept. 29 issue.
But the fact remains that selective colleges consider applicants in the context of their high school course offerings. Students receive a clear message early on that they must load up on APs and Honors courses in order to remain competitive with peers across the country if they plan to apply to this category of college or university.
PHS College and Career Center Director Stefanie Manolo LeClair told the board she sees this firsthand when college admissions officers from elite schools come to campus to talk to students. “What I hear them say is ‘we look at you in the context of your school offerings’. If students have an increase in options for APs and Honors, they will take them. It won’t be a choice in their minds,” she said. “I want us to pay attention to our students’ mental health.”
Trustees say they are compelled to offer more choice
Despite the objections in the room, the vote to expand the curriculum was supported unanimously by the Trustees.
“This is an issue with the culture of America and college culture,” said Trustee Max Roman. “To be perfectly honest with you, I can not fix that,” he said. “I am a pragmatist… there is a desire for people to take APs. I don’t see my role as limiting kids’ opportunity. Taking a ‘we know best so we’re not going to offer you this opportunity’ is contrary to how I see this role,” he said.
“The intent is for kids who are more humanities focused to have choice to challenge themselves earlier in their high school career,” said Trustee Susy Struble. “I absolutely hear the concerns about stress — this is a cultural American issue. But …. [I can’t] hold off on choices for kids.”
“We should be mindful of what APs we are offering and why,” said Trustee Michael Malione, who acknowledged the concerns about how the curriculum changes could lead to more “tracking” of students.
Trustee Ruchi Medhekar spoke directly to the room. “Stress is a part of life,” she said. “If you don’t experience stress, that’s a privilege. The practice of stress — it should be ordered and increasing as you get through different stages of your life,” she said. “If we think about our kids being global citizens… the majority of kids will be competing against kids from other countries. We need to empower our kids to make the right decisions for them, and to learn to say no… but it’s important for our kids to have options. It’s crazy to … pack in all the APs in the most stressful junior year” as is the practice now, she said.