A recent spike in enrollments to AP United States History (APUSH) at Los Altos High School posed a management concern for the Humanities Department, but the transition to double the number of class sections came smoothly. 

“Our team got larger, but we’re all professionals,” APUSH teacher Ryan Kearney said. “The people going into the team did the same type of preparation that we would be doing. They’re excited, engaged, and ready to go.”  

“There was more work,” former APUSH teacher Sarah Alvarado said. “But the workload for each teacher depends on the number of teachers versus the number of classes being taught.” 

Despite the increase in sections, every teacher continued to instruct two sections of APUSH as done in past years.

“So in totality, the workload was heavier,” Alvarado said. “But per teacher, it remained similar.” 

There has been speculation by some students and teachers as to why the sections increased — many were told by former juniors the combination of AP English Language and Composition and APUSH was too much. 

“I was told that I shouldn’t take them at the same time because of the workload,” senior Ozvaldo Valenzuela said. 

However, in recent years, students started shifting their views.

“Looking back, it tested me to manage my time well,” Ozvaldo said. “I don’t think it’s impossible to pull it off if you are ready to be a dedicated student.” 

Along with this, some teachers have supported taking both classes. 

 “The two classes are supposed to complement each other,” Kearney said. “They’re both writing intensive, and require analytical skills that benefit each other, helping increase your ability to do things critically.” 

Many current juniors were not told to avoid taking both classes. 

“I was never told anything about the combined difficulty of the two classes,” junior Edwin Mu said. “My counselor approved my schedule, and everything worked out.”  

Though the shifted perception of APUSH difficulty is one explanation, another reason for the increase in enrollment is teacher efforts to increase student interest. 

 “I would like to believe it was because APUSH was promoted within classes such as AP Human Geography and AP European History that we had an increase in sections,” Department Coordinator Chelsea Doiguchi said.

Though some teachers admit that there could be an influx of students wanting to take APUSH for college credit, others think most new students are genuinely interested in the course. 

“Student interest has gone up,” Kearney said. “That’s why there are so many more people in APUSH, because there’s a prevailing notion that you can do it, and that support is there for you.”

“Each class has its own unique personality and interest levels in history,” Mr. Stewart said. “Since the increase, it’s been the same experience overall; I don’t think there’s been a decrease of student interest in history.”