Cheltenham to propose AP Research, environmental honors and revised internships
Summary
District administrators proposed adding AP Research (to complete AP Capstone sequencing), creating an Environmental Science honors option for a proposed ninth-grade requirement, and revising an internship pathway that awards credit for sustained work placements.
Cheltenham administrators told the Educational Affairs Committee they intend to expand advanced and experiential offerings by proposing AP Research, creating an honors Environmental Science to accompany a proposed ninth-grade requirement, and formalizing a two-part internship experience.
AP Research: Administration said the district has been running AP Seminar and plans to add AP Research next year for the cohort that began AP Seminar; together the courses make students eligible to pursue the College Board’s AP Capstone Diploma if they meet additional AP requirements. "AP Research would be open to anybody who's a top freshman," a presenter said, and the AP Capstone endorsement comes from College Board standards.
Internships and crediting: The administration described a fall internship experience followed by a spring placement; the district would issue credit based on hours (presenter said 1 credit for every 120 hours of work). The district reported about 20 confirmed interns and additional tentative placements for the coming cycle.
Environmental honors and access: administrators said an Environmental Science honors class would be written by teachers to allow for inquiry-based lab work and to preserve access for all students by offering multiple levels (on-level, honors, AP options) so that a ninth-grade required course would be accessible.
Board follow-up: members asked for methodology details and how the courses would integrate with the portrait-of-a-graduate work; administrators said they would provide curricular documents and continued oversight through department chairs.
