There are various advanced courses offered at McCaskey High School, such as honors, AP, and IB classes. As an AP and honors student, my classmates and I have noticed an obvious lack of diversity in some of the advanced courses. 

This is seemingly more so an issue in J.P McCaskey rather than East- this being something I discovered talking with fellow classmates and teachers. I have been lucky enough to have more diverse classes, with most of my classes being at East. Many of my classmates with mainly East classes have a similar experience to me. But, this isn’t a universal experience for all students. Recently, I asked a IB, AP, and honors student with predominantly J.P classes, if their classes were diverse, to which they responded “not really, I’m in honors,” as if you can’t have both. As if it’s expected to be in a predominantly white class if you’re going to be an honors student at McCaskey, even though it’s a school with predominantly people of color. 

This isn’t just an observation a few classmates and I have made. This is something that has been acknowledged by administrators. The diversification of advanced courses, more specifically IB courses, is being actively worked toward. I talked with two teachers here at McCaskey, Mr. Painton and Mrs. Brumbach. As previously mentioned, East seems to have more inclusive courses. Ms. Brumbach being a teacher who’s only taught at East has noticed that all of her advanced courses have a mixture of different races and ethnicities. She stated that though this is the case for her classes, lack of diversity is a major issue for IB courses. 

Mr. Painton, teaching some IB classes, acknowledged this issue as well. He explained that this issue lies on both the educators and the students. The educator, for not preparing students for these classes by allowing them to do the bare minimum to get by. And the student, for simply not taking the class. 

But, why is that? Why do so many students, more specifically, students of color limit themselves and choose not to take advanced classes? In the Seattle Medium, Amir Cannon, a former black IB student stated, “I felt disconnected not just from the curriculum, but the entirety of the IB program…Was I challenged? Yes, but it was at the expense of feeling othered, ostracized, and marginalized among what I considered the ‘smart kids,’ who were predominantly white, in the IB program.” This is a fear that many students of color have, and rightfully so. 

Being targeted by my white classmates isn’t necessarily the issue. It’s “feeling othered” or different. Even in diverse classes, there’s typically some form of segregation. Whereas the white students will sit with other white students, and the black and brown students with one another. 

So how do we solve this issue? Programs such as Pic your Path is a great example. This program allows students to get insight on different AP and IB courses offered here at McCaskey. On top of that, offering financial aid to students who feel discouraged from taking the classes for monetary reasons. These two resources alone are extremely helpful, but as previously mentioned, this issue also falls on the students. No matter how many students are encouraged to take these courses or how inexpensive they are, the idea of having to sit uncomfortably in a seat for 180 days is going to cause students to be hesitant. As for now, we can only hope that this divide in the classroom will lessen. Until then, I don’t see much of a change coming in the future.