Beginning in the 2025-2026 school year, several freshmen at Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA) are taking AP Seminar, a class previously open exclusively to sophomores. 

According to College Board, “AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills on topics of the student’s choosing.”

AP Seminar has replaced Honors English II in the Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) curriculum, but still follows the honors trajectory. The class combines the core requirements from BCPSS’ Honors English II and College Board’s AP Seminar.

The change to incorporate freshmen came after BCPS’s decision to allow eighth grade students to receive their Honors English I credit in middle school, rather than their freshman year. 

“The fact that they’ve had the course credit already is intended to show that they’ve had adequate preparation for the expectations of AP Seminar,” noted BSA Literacy Coach. “The expectations are established by the course and not necessarily the grade level of the attendees.”

The decision whether to enroll a freshmen student in AP Seminar first depended on if they had the honor English I credit at a Baltimore City middle school. Then, placement test data was used to determine if a student had the prerequisite skills for the AP course.

For a freshman student that went to a private or out-of-state middle school, their English course syllabus would have to be reviewed by the district to see if they meet the requirements and benchmarks for the class.

Enrolling in the AP Seminar course allows a student to obtain both their Honors English II credit and an AP credit. This structure means the class is a heavy lift, one that challenges students with an especially demanding workload.

Freshman dancer Anslee Walters is taking AP Seminar this year. She is one of two freshmen in her class. 

“The workload is a lot more than my other classes, but I think it’s a good challenge,” said Walters. “I do feel like it’s kind of easy to just blend in with the rest of the class, but I do kind of feel like I’m a bit less prepared, or I don’t know what’s going on as much.”

While the workload is heavy, Walters has begun to adjust to the course’s structure. 

“I like the research and the project aspect. I’m not so excited about the group project aspect because I prefer to work on projects individually. But, overall, I like doing all the work to culminate it into one end result,”  Walters states.

The decision to offer AP Seminar to freshmen based on their middle school transcript might cause frustration on the part of some students who did not have the requisite English I credit in eighth grade, even if they completed a difficult English course at their middle school. However, other students are content with their placement.

Karli Calderon, a freshmen stage design and production student, is not taking AP Seminar. Instead, she was placed in the standard English I/II class. Upon hearing this, Calderon did not have concerns. 

“It mattered to me, but at the same time it was like ‘Oh, okay.’ It wasn’t like ‘Oh…I didn’t get it,” Calderon noted. 

Although Calderon felt her current English class is similar to what she took in middle school, she was not upset about her course placement. Calderon speaks English as a second language, so reviewing some of the material seemed like a better option for her. 

“I like it because it’s something I’ve already taken so I’m more comfortable with it. So it’s easy for me,” says Calderon. “I’m happy with my class. I like my teacher, I like my period. I’m happy with it.” 

Combining freshmen and sophomores in the same course can present its challenges, but for Emma Lipson, a sophomore vocalist at BSA, the adjustment hasn’t been difficult.

“I think AP Seminar could help with a freshman’s confidence. Like, getting to know older kids so that way they aren’t completely lost.”

“If you have the qualifications to take the class, go and do it,” says Lipson. “There are so many resources to help you with something, like asking the teacher, asking your friends, [or] reading a book.”

Although she enjoys sharing the class with them, Lipson wonders if AP Seminar would have been a good fit for herself as a freshman.

“I think I would have been really overwhelmed with the workload. High school is already a new experience…It’s really new and it’s, like, a lot of work to take on.”

The freshmen taking AP Seminar this year will join sophomores as they move through the honors trajectory. The following year, they will take AP Language and Composition, and after that, AP Literature and Composition. The English course these freshmen will take in their senior year is still to be determined, according to BSA’s Literacy Coach. 

For now, several freshmen will delve into this new curriculum, knowing that their writing and research abilities will be strengthened by this new challenge.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for students because it gives [them] the chance to get engaged with AP coursework, and for some it helps them to really build their skills,” concluded the Literacy Coach.

To contact this writer, email Muse Newspaper at musebsa@bsfa.org.

This story was written in partnership with The Banner Youth News Lab. 

Featured photo by Nola Harvey for The Muse.