EStem High School is still offering AP African American Studies and will award a medal to students who pass the course and take its exam, according to the charter school.
Parents were notified through a letter sent by eStem Public Charter Schools in response to the state Department of Education’s removal of the course from its course code listings.
[DOCUMENT: EStem letter to parents » arkansasonline.com/817estem]
A total of six schools planned to offer the course, which was in its second year as a pilot program, according to the College Board. In addition to eStem High School, they are Little Rock High School, North Little Rock High School, North Little Rock Center Of Excellence, The Academies at Jonesboro High and Jacksonville High School. The schools will all offer the class for the 2023-24 school year, administrators from each district said.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday that the state needs to return to “the basics of teaching math, of teaching, reading, writing and American history,” according to a transcript on the news agency’s website.
“We cannot perpetuate a lie to our students and push this propaganda leftist agenda, teaching our kids to hate America and hate one another,” Sanders said. “It’s one of the reasons that we put into law banning things like indoctrination and CRT [critical race theory].”
The state Division of Elementary and Secondary Education asked the College Board in January about the content of the course, which was being piloted in 60 schools across the country. The division’s questions were prompted by executive orders Sanders issued on her first day in office, including one “to prohibit indoctrination and critical race theory in schools.” Similar restrictions were later placed in Act 237 of 2023, the LEARNS Act.
The eStem Charter Schools letter to parents states, “On Friday afternoon, August 11th, at 4:02 p.m., the Arkansas Department of Education decided that AP African American Studies would not be recognized for state credit this school year (2023-2024). Moreover, our school only received information about this dynamic change through a direct phone conversation between two representatives from the Department of Education and the High School Director (Mr. [Maurice] Guest).”
EStem High School will now offer the course as a local elective credit on a weighted five-point scale. The school will also cover the cost of the end-of-year AP exam for the course.
The state has traditionally paid for students’ test fees for AP courses in Arkansas’ course code catalog.
Students who pass the class and take the exam “will be awarded eStem High School’s first Medal of Historical Pursuit and Valor (Medallia Historicae Studii Virtutis),” according to the letter. The medal can be worn during graduation as part of a student’s regalia.
State officials told the school director during Friday’s call that AP African American studies would not be recognized as a state-approved course, and that it would only be recognized as a local school credit and elective class if offered at the campus, according to eStem. As a local credit/elective, the course wouldn’t be weighted on the typical AP five-point GPA scale, and the state would not pay the cost of the end-of-year AP exam.
“Although the full impact of our state’s intention is vague, our intentions are clear: We will continue to teach AP African American Studies at eHS,” the letter states.
The letter does not name the two Education Department representatives who spoke with Guest.
Roughly 62% of the 528 students enrolled at eStem High School during the previous school year were Black, according to data from the state Department of Education. About 21% were white, while about 9% were Hispanic, about 2% were Asian and roughly 6% identified as being of two or more races.
Jacksonville High School will also offer the course, with students similarly receiving local weighted credit, according to a news release issued Thursday from the Jacksonville/North Pulaski School District. Their decision came in response to the “growing interest of our
scholars,” the release states.
District spokeswoman Cheesa Williams said the district will cover the cost of the exam for students.
The course in Jacksonville will be taught by a “highly qualified instructor who is passionate about the subject and is excited about the scholars’ interest in the subject matter,” the release states. “District leaders believe that the AP African American Studies course
will be a valuable addition to the district’s curriculum, and will help our young people understand and appreciate the rich diversity of our society.”
North Little Rock School District will likewise offer the AP African American studies course for local credit on a five-point scale, district spokesman Dustin Barnes said in an email. The district is “considering options” for covering the exam costs, Barnes said.
The district is providing the course at North Little Rock High School and North Little Rock Center Of Excellence.
The Little Rock School District will offer an AP African American studies course as a “local weighted credit course,” and students will be able to take its exam without paying for it, administrators said on Wednesday.
Jonesboro School District Superintendent Kim Wilbanks said Wednesday that her district will also offer the class to students at the Academies at Jonesboro High School for local weighted credit. The district will also “seek outside funding to pay for the exams,” which will be available for students to take upon completion of the course.
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EStem High School still offering AP African American studies course, will offer medal to students who complete class - Arkansas Online
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