The Advanced Placement (AP) program in the Omaha Public Schools offers high school students the opportunity to take college-level courses in a high school setting. For over 50 years, students in the district have participated in the AP program to gain high-level academic skills and earn college credit while still in high school. Successful completion of AP Exams offers the opportunity to earn college credit and financial savings for families on courses traditionally taken in college in their freshman and sophomore years. Participation in the AP program gives students college-level experience while still in high school.

Many students will enroll in academic level courses, while students who are looking to challenge themselves will enroll in honors courses and students who are prepared for college-level rigor will enroll in AP courses. As visualized by the pyramid, the number of students enrolled in AP courses is much lower and creates a smaller environment that allows students to work with their peers and receive more individualized support. When registering for their classes, counselors will look at previous academic performance before placing a student in AP courses.

Westview will take part in the AP Capstone Diploma™ program. AP Capstone is not a course. It’s a two-year program based on two AP courses—AP Seminar and AP Research. Other AP courses teach you, in depth, about a specific subject, like biology or U.S. history. AP Seminar and AP Research are different. They focus on helping you develop academic skills you can use in any discipline. These skills include:

• Critical Thinking: View issues from multiple perspectives and create arguments based on evidence.
• Collaboration: Work alone, in a group, and with expert advisers to communicate your ideas.
• Conducting research: Explore various research methods and complete research projects on topics of your own choosing.
• Public speaking: Present and defend your work as a group and individually.

AP capstone can help you...

How does it work?

1. Take AP Seminar
   • In AP Seminar, you’ll investigate topics in a variety of subject areas, write research-based essays, and design and give presentations both individually and as part of a team.
2. Take AP Research
   • In AP Research, you’ll build on what you learned in AP Seminar to design, plan, and conduct a yearlong research-based investigation on a topic of your choice.
3. Earn Awards
   • You can earn 1 of 2 AP Capstone awards if you take both courses and fulfill other requirements. And you’ll receive an AP score for each separate course.

What are the Awards?

AP Capstone Diploma™

Earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research and on four additional AP Exams of your choice. You can take the four additional AP Exams anytime during high school.

AP Seminar and Research Certificate™

Earn scores of 3 or higher in AP Seminar and AP Research.