Starting next school year, UC High will offer one new course to students, AP Precalculus, and is hoping to bring back the course Expository Reading and Writing Curriculum (ERWC).

   According to the College Board website, AP Precalculus is a new course that will be first introduced in the 2023-2024 school year. The course was developed with the help of college faculty and high school teachers to create a curriculum that prepares students for higher-level math and science classes (apcentral.collegeboard.org).

   Junior Michael Kozma is one student who plans to take the class next year. “I think an introduction to the principles of calculus while still at a high school will benefit me when I am fulfilling my math requirements in college,” he said.

   UC High already offers an Honors precalculus course that gives students weighted credit, and this new course likely won’t be very different in terms of material. The College Board stated on their website that, “AP Precalculus contains similar content to existing high school precalculus courses — which are, by their design, already advanced” (apcentral.collegeboard.org).

   Kozma added, “In general, I think it is super important to offer many classes in the same subject to make sure everyone can pick the level of intensity that is right for them. AP Precalculus will expand those options, and prepare UCHS students for more advanced calculus classes.”

   According to the College Board, “Precalculus can fulfill a math requirement at a diverse range of colleges and universities, including the majority of public institutions… College Board is working with colleges and universities to expand credit policies and ensure that AP Precalculus sets a strong foundation for college success” (apcentral.collegeboard.org).

   As per Head Counselor Kelsey Bradshaw, even though the class was offered on this year’s course request list, AP Precalculus will only be taught if there are a sufficient number of students interested in taking it.

   The other new class to open up next year is ERWC, a 12th-grade English course that, according to Bradshaw, was actually offered in the past. It was originally piloted at UC High by Former Teacher Donna Fallon.

   Bradshaw said that the course is a product of the California State University system, and that, “…It was developed by professors at San Diego State University because they felt that a lot of the freshmen they were getting weren’t strong enough at writing, particularly when it comes to essays.”

   According to Cal State’s informational sheet on the course, students who take ERWC are, “…better prepared for college coursework and post-secondary success, and empowered to express themselves through academic discourse and extensive writing” (calstate.edu).

   “There is some reading [in the course] because you’re using it for reference points, but it’s definitely a writing class,” said Bradshaw. She went on, saying, “It’s like AP English Language lite. It’s not as intensive but definitely honing in on the same skills.”

   On Cal State’s informational sheet for the course, it describes that the course covers, “…high-interest topics such as immigration, mental illness, and social media usage explored through a wide range of texts such as Othello, The Distance Between Us, and The Things They Carried” (calstate.edu).

   Bradshaw specified that only if enough students express interest in taking ERWC will it be taught next year.