Curriculum Video

VIDEO: What AP African American Studies Looks Like in Practice

By Ileana Najarro & Jaclyn Borowski — March 29, 2024 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The College Board’s new Advanced Placement African American Studies course has sparked national debate since the pilot first kicked off in the fall of 2022. Florida officials banned the pilot course last year alleging it defied state law restricting instruction on race. Similar legislation has passed in at least 17 other states, including Kentucky.

The controversy surrounding the course got Ahenewa El-Amin interested in teaching it. The educator from Lexington, Ky., has been leading the class since the fall of this current school year, and with constant feedback from her students, is writing the curriculum that will be used to teach the course at Henry Clay High School moving forward.

Here, see what the course is really like inside the classroom.

See Also:

Ahenewa El-Amin leads a conversation with students during her AP African American Studies class at Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Ky., on March 19, 2024.
Ahenewa El-Amin leads a conversation with students during her AP African American Studies class at Henry Clay High School in Lexington, Ky., on March 19, 2024.
Jaclyn Borowski/Education Week

Events

School Climate & Safety Webinar Strategies for Improving School Climate and Safety
Discover strategies that K-12 districts have utilized inside and outside the classroom to establish a positive school climate.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
Decision Time: The Future of Teaching and Learning in the AI Era
The AI revolution is already here. Will it strengthen instruction or set it back? Join us to explore the future of teaching and learning.
Content provided by HMH
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Stop the Drop: Turn Communication Into an Enrollment Booster
Turn everyday communication with families into powerful PR that builds trust, boosts reputation, and drives enrollment.
Content provided by TalkingPoints

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Curriculum NYC Teens Could Soon Bank at School as Part of a New Initiative
The effort in America's largest school district is part of a growing push for K-12 finance education.
3 min read
Natalia Melo, community relations coordinator with Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, teaches a financial literacy class to teens participating in East Tampa's summer work program.
Natalia Melo, community relations coordinator with Tampa Bay Federal Credit Union, teaches a financial literacy class to teens participating in East Tampa's summer work program. In New York City, a new pilot initiative will bring in-school banking to some of the city's high schools as part of a broader financial education push.
Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via TNS
Curriculum 84% of Teens Distrust the News. Why That Matters for Schools
Teenagers' distrust of the media could have disastrous consequences, new report says.
5 min read
girl with a laptop sitting on newspapers
iStock/Getty
Curriculum Opinion Here’s Why It’s Important for Teachers to Have a Say in Curriculum
Two curriculum publishers explain what gets in the way of giving teachers the best materials possible.
5 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Curriculum The Many Reasons Teachers Supplement Their Core Curricula—and Why it Matters
Some experts warn against supplementing core programs with other resources. But educators say there can be good reasons to do so.
7 min read
First grade students listen as their teacher Megan Goes helps them craft alternate endings for stories they wrote together at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023.
First grade students listen as their teacher Megan Goes helps them craft alternate endings for stories they wrote together at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023. In reading classrooms nationwide, teachers tend to mix core and supplemental materials—whether out of necessity or by design.
Emily Elconin for Education Week