By Dustin Herald
Boone County High School
Each May across the country students spend countless hours studying and preparing for their
final exams, usually having a large percentage of their grade resting on the result.
However this year at Boone County High School, there was much more on the line for a group of students in
AP Spanish. Students spent countless hours studying in order to take the AP exam which could earn them college credit in the Spanish Language.
Sarah Baird
Sarah Baird, a Spanish Teacher at BCHS, taught two sections of AP Spanish this past school year and has a similar number of students taking the class for the 2022-2023 school year. For many years at Boone County High School, there were very few students taking this course due to its rigor and/or scheduling conflicts.
New principal Stacey Black stated, “that it is a continued priority moving forward to encourage our students to challenge themselves by taking the most rigorous courses.”
To encourage more students into taking AP Spanish, the Spanish teaching staff at BCHS invited interested students to the library for informational sessions for the AP Spanish course. They also began offering the course to heritage speakers (students who speak Spanish at home).
This increased the number of students taking the test and increased overall interest in the course.
“Many of these students come from all over the world and have varying levels of reading and writing abilities in Spanish,” said Baird. “Our goal this school year was for these students to become better readers and writers in Spanish in order to be able to function in a variety of settings and be able to take these skills into the professional world.”
The school’s efforts paid off.
Students this year had tremendous results and for the first time in school history three students demonstrated their abilities and scored a “5”, the highest score possible on the AP exam.
The score of “5” gives the students multiple college credits for language and sets them up to complete the major’s requirements early if they wish to continue studying the language in college.
There were also many students who scored a “4” and “3” which also awarded students college credit.
Baird also discussed how the AP class will benefit our local community, increasing the number of students speaking Spanish and being proficient in the langage to assist those in our community who do not speak English.
“The skills they have developed and demonstrated this year will be a great asset to our
community,” she said. “I am very proud of and honored to teach these rebels.”
The school recommends that any student who is interested in learning a world language should sign up for the language they are interested in learning when they begin the scheduling process.
While it is not a graduation requirement, staff recommends that all students take a world language.
