(May 27, 2010) — According to counselor Karen Carlson, the future of AP science classes remains uncertain, while the technological courses have remained largely unaffected by recent budget cuts. AP Chemistry teacher Loussik Kassakhian says that “we’re sending a message to the community that we don’t have high-level classes.” She said Clark’s goal is to attract students who are top level performers, but the school won’t have that because it appears that the community does not see the importance of having AP sciences. It is uncertain whether there will be AP science classes offered every year. According to AP Biology teacher Virginia Benzer, the Clark faculty has discussed this issue since last August. One of the ideas being considered is offering AP Physics, AP Chemistry and AP Biology classes every other year. However, not everyone agrees to having the sacrifices made. “They need to offer all the AP sciences every year,” said Benzer. “Some kids are being left out, and they’re not getting the AP sciences that they need to go on onto a university.” According to Benzer, the AP Bio course was not offered this year because it did not meet the school district’s required number of students. The required number for Clark is 31, which is based on the class size norm of the school. Kassakhian wants AP science students to continue in the AP path in order to increase their chances of getting into the college of their choice. Some students, such as senior Meenely Nazarian, intended to take AP Biology but could not do so because of the lack of enrollment. “I wanted to major in it to see if it was something I liked before I went to college,” she said. However, junior Adriana Flores never considered taking an AP science class. She finds that it would put a lot of stress on her, but putting a film together would be more worthwhile. She is currently taking Cinematography 3-4 because she views the filming process as her career path. “Those AP science classes are not something that interest me,” she said. According to Nazarian, it seems that many more students are flocking towards ROP classes and away from AP science classes. Compared to only one AP Physics and one AP Chemistry class offered this school year, there are six cinematography classes and photography classes. Thirty-two students took AP Physics and 19 students took AP Chemistry this year, while approximately 30 students are enrolled in each ROP class. Carlson said that colleges look at students’ transcripts to make sure they take rigorous courses. “They’d rather see a C in an AP class than no AP,” she said. However, having cinema and animation projects do help get an application noticed, according to Calrson. She encourages all students to “push yourself, challenge yourself, or do both.” Kassakhian also encourages students not to avoid challenges and to try their best. She said that the AP classes offered in the school is a way of getting the top students recognize. “After all, this is a a science and technology magnet school,” she said.