Shuffle. Scratch. Pencils fly across paper as students scribble away at notes for their AP World History class. Some chatter surrounds the teens as they multitask, but they all sit hard at work. The occasional hand raise breaks the silence of the room as someone asks about ancient empires or another historical event.

Instructor Stephanie Simon, through personal experience, presents how hard work and dedication can be all you need for positive results. Simon herself dropped out of high school after having a hard time. Yet, when later in life she decided she wanted to be a teacher, she did not let anything stop her, showing that even if instructors, counselors, or administrators say something is unachievable for you, hard work and dedication prevails. 

“I knew I wanted to be that for other kids who had struggles whether that be at home, with friends, or themselves,” Simon said. “I wanted to be a trusting individual that kids could come and talk to and get support from me.” 

The new Advanced Placement (AP) instructor, Simon, started her first year teaching AP classes in the 2024-2025 school year. World History is often students’ first AP class at Bellevue East, which can be challenging.

“I would always advise that the student talk with the teacher who is leading the course,” Social Studies Department Chair Lance Raabe said. “We encourage all of our students to consider taking an AP course if they’d like to embrace the challenge, but the best way to learn what the course is all about is to email/stop by an AP teacher’s classroom to have a discussion.”

Speaking of support, when it comes to AP courses, students often don’t know how to succeed in the classes. According to US News, even for the strongest of students, AP courses can make them falter. Due to the difficulties, it is a decision students often do not know how to make if they are able to be in this kind of course. 

“AP courses often have larger project requirements and extensive writing assignments,” Raabe said, “As a result, students need to plan ahead when it comes to due dates and progress gradually through large assignments.  Waiting for the last minute to prepare for an exam or complete a large project can be an unwise approach.”

When it comes down to AP courses, the mindset of the student. College prep website  PrepScholar states that you can not succeed in AP courses if you do not believe you can. PrepScholar also points out that students need to adjust their time to prevent burnout if they wish to succeed 

 “I thought it would be harder than it really is,” sophomore Violet Aulner said. “The content is easy to understand as long as you do the work.” 

Furthermore, there are different tools and techniques to stay successful with AP classes.  PrepScholar highlights how to take notes for these courses through more than just what is said in class. Students can get more out of notes by reviewing old lessons, tests, and other sources to help them study. 

“I try to find some resources online, take notes to the best of my ability, and maybe ask some other history teachers for some resources too,” sophomore Jazlin Reimer said.