GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Northview High School students are having success a new curriculum and the district says it will help better prepare them for the future.
Northview is one of a few schools in the country offering Pre-AP courses for all of its students.
"Coming into a Pre-AP class as a freshman can be really, really intimidating," said Skylar Denyes, a sophomore.
As the year went on, Denyes found that Pre-AP courses, despite the bigger workload, were worth it.
"One of the key things I learned through Pre-AP was time management," she said. "So, as the year went on, I started having less and less homework cause I learned to prioritize what I was doing in class from most important to least important."
This is the second year in a row Northview High School has implemented Pre-AP courses in math, science and English, and they're a bit unique.
"There's not the traditional sit-and-get sort of environment. It's very interactive and exploratory and discovery-based," said Kasey Hagler, a school counselor and Pre-AP coordinator.
The principal of Northview High School, Mark Thomas, says it's one of the few schools in the country that provides Pre-AP courses to every student.
It's all about their students having access to a quality curriculum where they can apply for higher-level courses or college, if they so choose.
"When seniors leave, most of the time the survey says, I wish I would've taken harder classes or I wish I would've applied myself more. When they do that, we see how much they believe in themselves and their self-esteem and self-efficacy goes up," said Thomas.
Denyes admits she never liked English, but a Pre-AP course changed her mind — and her self-confidence.
"After succeeding in that class, I realized I can do this and if I try, I will get a good result. It's made me feel like I am worth something in school. I'm not just another body or student."
A Pre-AP social studies course will be added to the high school next year.
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