Davis High School to be Part of African American Studies Pilot Program

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The campus will begin to offer the AP course 2023-2024.

High schools across the country are learning if they will be among a small group of schools to pilot an Advanced Placement African American Studies course next school year.

Davis High School in Aldine ISD is one of the high schools selected by the College Board, the organization that provides the AP course framework.

The new AP African American studies course debuted in 60 high schools nationwide in 2022-2023. It will be expanded nationally to “hundreds of additional high schools” in 2023-2024.

All schools will be able to offer the course beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. According to the College Board, the AP Program has worked with colleges, universities, and secondary schools for over a decade to create an AP course in African American studies.

Susan Pelezo, executive director of advanced academics at Aldine ISD, said it would be an excellent addition to the school’s offerings.

“We are excited to be a part of the pilot program,” said Pelezo. “There’s a real interest among students to learn more in-depth about key figures they might have never heard of before. The students are also more aware of issues from the African American community. We have no doubt that students will want to learn about the past and the influences of that history on current events.”

The course is designed to offer high school students an evidence-based introduction to African American studies. The course drew from the expertise and experience of college faculty and teachers across the country.

The interdisciplinary course explores various fields — literature, the arts and humanities, political science, geography, and science — to explore African Americans’ vital contributions and experiences. According to the course framework from the College Board, AP African American studies “examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources.” It will emphasize “developing historical, literary, visual, and data analysis skills.”

Topics to be covered in the course include early African empires and kingdoms, the transatlantic slave trade, slavery, abolition, reconstruction, racial uplift, Black internationalism, the civil rights movement, Black power and Black pride, diversity within Black communities and identity, culture, and connection.

A new AP course can only launch if colleges and universities commit to awarding college credit and placement to students with qualifying AP Exam scores. More than 200 institutions have already committed to supporting AP African American Studies through credit and placement policies.

The AP Program is committed to developing AP African American Studies and has already engaged faculty from hundreds of colleges and universities to ensure the course reflects the academic rigor of introductory college courses within the discipline.

The College Board expects AP African American Studies to impact college course enrollments within the field significantly. Research consistently shows that students taking AP courses are likelier to take additional related coursework in college and major or minor in that discipline.

Pelezo shared that AISD does offer non-AP African-American and Mexican-American studies semester courses the state of Texas authorizes. As of this date, Aldine, Blanson CTE, Carver, Davis, Eisenhower, and MacArthur high school campuses offer non-AP Mexican American Studies (MAS) and African American Studies (AAS).