Students and parents urge Kenston to restore AP Chemistry after schedule changes

Kenston Local School District parents and students urged the board on April 14 to reinstate Advanced Placement Chemistry after district scheduling changes put the class at risk, arguing the course is critical for students headed to STEM majors.

The concerns came during public comment after Kenston high school staff described a revised master-schedule process that moved course requests, counselor meetings and section-building later in the year. Parents and students said AP Chemistry—taught previously by a teacher with a record of strong AP scores—was dropped from the draft schedule and that available alternatives would not provide equivalent instruction or lab experience.

Why it matters: AP Chemistry can provide college credit, stronger preparation for first-year college chemistry and a competitive signal for selective college admissions. Speakers said losing the course risks lowering a district metric the state will use on this year’s report card and could affect students who planned their course sequences to include AP-level science.

Students and families described the impact. Corey Maneri, who identified himself as a parent, told the board that at least eight incoming seniors had planned to take AP Chemistry and that removing the course would “tremendously disservice” those students. Ryan Maneri, a student who said he plans to study engineering, noted that last year every student in the AP Chemistry class scored a 4 or 5 on the AP exam. Ben Fink, another current or recent student, said he benefits from hands-on labs and told the board the two alternatives offered—an independent study in which students would be expected to self-teach while enrolled in another chemistry section, and college-concurrent-credit (CCP) at an outside campus—are not practical for many students.

Counseling and scheduling constraints. Mr. Gabriel, the high-school presenter, told the board the school is still finalizing the master schedule after moving to a new scheduling platform and conducting one-on-one counselor meetings for grades 8–11. He described limits created by section counts, course conflicts and an uncertain number of student requests; he said staff will run conflict-resolution simulations and aim to release schedules in the coming weeks. Gabriel said the district is “intentional” about placing singleton and enrichment courses to reduce conflicts but acknowledged there are difficult tradeoffs.

Students said they received mixed messages from counselors about whether they could sign up; a number of public commenters reported learning the class had been cut only after they had begun planning their senior year. Parents pressed for clearer communication and for the district to consider keeping the AP section because of demonstrated student success in the class and the limited, impractical alternatives.

District response and next steps. Dr. Willingham, who led the meeting’s administrative reports, told speakers the administration was listening and working on solutions. He and other administrators said they would follow up directly with students and families; no board vote or formal action about AP Chemistry was taken that night. Mr. Gabriel and building administrators were given responsibility to continue schedule simulations and to report back with any feasible options for offering the AP course.

Ending: Families and students asked the board for clear, prompt communication about whether AP Chemistry can be restored before schedules are finalized, stressing the impact on college preparation for a cohort of students who had planned sequences around the course.