If there is anything continuous about the evolution of education, it’s that nothing is continuous. As Brighton High School’s junior, sophomore and freshman students finish submitting what courses they would like to take next school year, many are having to consider what new classes are available, whether they are worth taking and what they could potentially be missing out on if they decide to embark on these uncharted journeys.

But what new classes are actually being offered? And should students take them?

Perhaps the new class that will have the most dramatic impact on scheduling will be the introduction of AP Seminar to BHS. This is an English class that has existed as part of College Board’s Advanced Placement program for many years but has never previously been offered here at Brighton. Incoming 10th graders are the target grade level for the course, providing a new option that will count toward the sophomore English credit requirement. This is made especially notable by the fact that sophomores at BHS have historically been restricted to AP World History and AP Environmental Science when it comes to taking AP classes, with new options only opening up in the past two years.

Furthermore, with this addition, high-achieving students will now be able to take an AP English course 10th through 12th grade, with AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition still being available for junior and senior year students, respectively. When asked about the benefits of taking AP Seminar, Mr. Jeffrey Miner, one of the school’s grade-level counselors, said that he thinks its most attractive quality to rising sophomores will be the potential GPA grade boost.

The inclusion of AP Seminar in the curriculum is also predicted to have a domino effect on the rest of the English program. While American Literature has been and will continue to be the standard English class for most 10th graders, in previous years, students seeking a tougher sophomore English class also had the option to take Honors American Literature. However, with the introduction of AP Seminar, this course is in jeopardy of not running.

“I think any student that would want to take Honors English most likely would want to take AP Seminar instead,” Miner said. “They get a grade boost there, where they don’t from Honors, and colleges like APs.”

This means that while Honors American Literature will remain as a third option for a sophomore English credit, the odds of it having enough signups to run are slim given that it and AP Seminar will be fighting for the same pool of accelerated students.

One class shoving another in a closet like this is not unprecedented, though. For example, Honors English 11 is still technically on the books as a junior-year option despite not running for a while, as when AP English Language and Composition was introduced, the demographic of honors students flocked there instead.

Beyond AP Seminar, there are two additional courses that will be joining the curriculum for the 2026-27 school year. Earth science will be a new class that will count as a science credit toward graduation.

“It’s meant to be… like [a] third science, so kids would still take biology and then chemistry, and then Earth science could be one of the ones they choose instead [of physics or anatomy],” Miner said.

The school is also adding another AP course in AP Business with Personal Finance. This course will likely apply to the financial literacy credit that is required for all students starting with the Class of 2028. Focusing its content on finance and entrepreneurship, this will not only be a new class at Brighton but will also be rolled out nationally as a brand-new offering from College Board. This means that all students who decide to take the corresponding AP test for college credit will be among the first to ever take said exam, and Brighton will likewise be among the first schools to ever offer it.

So where does all of this leave students? At the end of the day, all of these additions are made to give them more flexibility, but should they actually take up these offers?

“It all depends on the person… We have quite a few kids in our class who are going to be an electrician, or they’re going to be a welder, whatever. And, you know, why do those kids need the second half of Algebra 2? We should give them more time to work on what they want to do,” Miner said. “But on the other hand, if… you want to go to a four year school, you’re going to take the hard academic classes. It just really kind of depends on the student.”