Congratulations to the Hollidaysburg School Board for its decision to approve the text recommended by the AP for its AP psychology course. That sounds ironic, doesn’t it — that a school board should be commended for selecting the best tool to be successful in a course, which students will pay to take an exam to earn possible college credits? To have selected a different text than the one specifically created for the course would be tantamount to choosing a drivers’ education text for a different country, then asking the students to be successful on the Pennsylvania driving test.

Comments from some board members suggest that they don’t know that AP stands for Advanced Placement and that the class is an elective. Members who objected should understand the curriculum offered by the district and requirements for the various levels therein.

An AP teacher’s goal is twofold — teach the curriculum provided by the AP and help students achieve top scores on the exam.

The school board cannot celebrate its amazing music program, acknowledge an award-winning drama program, laud an art program that has produced numerous professional artists, and watch its alumni go on to careers as doctors, lawyers, engineers, craftsman and successful entrepreneurs, only to regress and question the choices made by educators and professional organizations like the AP.

The reputation of HASD relies on a board which will continue to support the integrity of academic excellence, as opposed to following the ever-changing winds of politics.

Laura Frederick

Altoona