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Student board member urges clearer guidance on AP, COA and NCVPS as AP offerings fall
Summary
Student board member Amelia Cervantes told the Currituck County Board that survey results show confusion about AP versus College of The Albemarle (COA) enrollment and that AP in-person offerings have declined; the board acknowledged counselor turnover and staffing as drivers and asked staff for follow-up.
Amelia Cervantes, a student board member, told the board Feb. 19 that students and some staff experience inconsistent communication about AP courses, College of The Albemarle (COA) dual-enrollment options and NCVPS online courses, and offered recommendations to improve access.
"About 44.8% of the students that I took a survey from understood how to sign up for COA... versus the 25 that really understood the AP request to sign up process," Cervantes said, citing her survey findings. She said many students learn about higher-level class opportunities from peers rather than teachers or counselors, and that AP in-person offerings have decreased because of teacher shortages.
Cervantes asked the board for clearer, more consistent communication from counselors and teachers, more in-person AP options, restored year-long AP pacing, expanded AP teacher training and tutoring or study sessions during lunch to help students who ride buses and cannot stay after school.
Board members thanked Cervantes for both identifying problems and proposing solutions. The chair and other members noted a fully new counseling staff this year and cited staffing constraints as a reason AP offerings have been reduced.
District staff indicated some AP and dual-enrollment materials (a flyer compiled by Mr. Edwards) exist and said they will provide requested data and follow-up materials. Cervantes and board members asked the district to consider restoring year-long AP courses and to examine whether COA is being used primarily to fill schedule gaps rather than to provide rigorous college-credit preparation.
