First AP Art Class Added to ’22-’23 Curriculum

Articles, Arts
February 14, 2022
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Avi Shapira

ONLINE EDITOR

Andover High School will add Advanced Placement (AP) 2D Design to the curriculum in the 2022-2023 school year.

Taking an AP class could look good on a transcript, and students who do well on the AP test may get college credit for it. AHS offers AP classes in a variety of subjects, but there are currently no AP classes in the fine arts department.

“[The school has been] sending the message that the arts are not as valued at the school as STEM is,” said senior Giulia Panzica, who plans to study art in college.

Since there were no art APs offered, some students, including Panzica, had to study for the art AP tests on their own and take them outside of school. Having AP classes on their transcripts can help students get into art school, and are required by many international schools for American applicants.

COURTESY PHOTO / Giulia Panzica
“The Pinecone and the Tree” created by Giulia Panzica

“Some of us need this on our transcripts and it’s ridiculous that it’s not more of a problem,” said Panzica.

Panzica, who applied to international schools, took AP Art History through Virtual High School (VHS) and is now taking AP Drawing. AP Art History is a test-based course like most AP classes, and AP Drawing requires students to submit a portfolio of their work as their test.

“It sucks. It was the worst,” Panzica said, describing her experience taking AP Art History on VHS. “I feel like I would have learned so much more in a classroom with a teacher who was explaining things, but it was just me researching on Khan Academy.”

Most students take Portfolio I senior year, but some take Portfolio I junior year and Portfolio II senior year. The curriculum is a two-year cycle, so every other year students are taught different content.

Currently AHS upperclassmen who are interested in studying art in college can take Portfolio I or Portfolio II. Portfolio I and II meet in the same class and are taught by the same teacher. In Portfolio, students create a portfolio of their artwork to apply to art school with.

AP 2D Design will replace Portfolio II as an upper-level art class for seniors to take. “Those upper level, second year Portfolio students have a chance to get college credit,” said Sean Walsh, director of the fine arts department. “[They] also get to specialize, work with some of the AP skills.”

AP 2D Design involves writing and research related to the students’ artwork, which would be more prominent in the curriculum of AP Design than in the Portfolio II curriculum. AP Design will also have specific guidelines for submissions, which could influence student work.

COURTESY PHOTO / Giulia Panzica
“Vaso Siciliano” created by Giulia Panzica

Walsh hopes that after AP Design is introduced, the class will grow. According to Walsh, around five students are expected to take it next year. He also hopes adding an AP class will eventually separate Portfolio I and II and set apart the second year Portfolio students.

“We recognize that [students have] developed already what’s going to get [them into college], now [they can] develop something that’s going to provide [them] some credits there,” said Walsh, explaining the purpose of AP Design.

Despite AP Design being a different class than Portfolio II, students will still be able to get help from an experienced teacher on their art school application. “[Portfolio] gives you insight into the college application processes, which is a lot of what we go over and is very hard to navigate even with Portfolio,” said senior Jillian Boyer.

While most students are excited for an AP art class to be offered, an alumni feels differently. Kai Lonie, who graduated from AHS in 2021 and is now attending MassArt, does not think AP 2D Design is a necessary addition to the curriculum.

COURTESY PHOTO / Jillian Boyer
“Self Portrait” created by Jillian Boyer

Lonie explained there are large differences between high school and college art classes. “[AP art classes] don’t prepare you for college at all, considering all of my studio classes are five hours long and only meet once a week,” they said.

Lonie described studio classes as “made to give you uninhibited time to work on art,” which high school can’t provide. Each studio class also focuses on a different topic, from drawing to the concept of time in art. They “take the semester to teach and expand on that idea.” This is very different from high school and not an experience any high school class can prepare students for, according to Lonie.

Overall, people are looking forward to the new addition to the curriculum.

“Having an AP art class at this school is important because it opens up more opportunities for higher learning in art,” said Boyer.

Andoverview

AHS Class of 2026 Graduation: A Sentiment of Gratitude

June 11, 2026

Abby Chachus & Kendall Murphy || STAFF WRITERS

A hush falls as a sea of navy gowns, a rising tide of Andover High School graduates enters the Tsongas Center just before 5 o’clock on June 1, 2026. There is something distinct about moments like these. A goodbye that is bittersweet among both the audience and the seniors.

According to Graduation Committee member Ella Murphy, it is a goodbye to “Halloween costume competitions that never disappoint, lunches, wrap lines and vending machine trips,” seemingly inconsequential things, but the memories will stick with all of the students as they move on to their future endeavors.

The graduation speakers shared the value of these moments and their gratitude for the people that helped them along the way. As the ceremony commenced, the opening speakers Zachery Pan and Murphy welcomed everyone and encouraged them to acknowledge their shared experiences at Andover High School. “These moments, these memories, these faces. None of us got here alone.” said Pan.

Their speech gave time to deliver some truly meaningful thank you’s, “beyond the formalities” as Murphy put it, to the teachers and staff that showed up each day with “patience, support, and dedication.” Furthermore, they recognized that this gratitude is not solely meant for the significant ceremonies.

“Gratitude is kind of strange. We tend to save it for the big moments. The ceremonies, the stages, the audiences,” said Murphy.

“But let’s be honest—the people who actually changed your life probably weren’t standing on a stage when they did it,” continued Pan.

They concluded the speech with a request to the graduates to thank those who changed their lives in both the big and small moments, even if it feels unnecessary.

Before graduation, other seniors expressed similar thoughts, like reflecting on the journey that got them to where they are today.

“To all my teachers: thank you for everything. I would not be here without any single one of you.” said Christopher Reardon.

Thomas Enman advised underclassmen to “just enjoy every little minute you get at AHS.”

Vignesha Jayakumar, class essayist and valedictorian, echoed this same sentiment of appreciation, reinforcing Reardon’s message about the lasting impact of teachers and support systems. “We were galvanized from a community of supportive teachers and staff who didn’t just teach us subjects, they taught us how to think, how to question, how to care,” said Jayakumar.

He also mentioned the importance of one learning from their fellow graduates. “We learned as much from each other in the hallways and the bleachers as we did in the classroom,” he said.

After Jayakumar, Graduation Committee members Ben Pelt and Kari Belson spoke. First, Pelt announced the Class of 2026’s class gift to AHS. Next, Belson named Scott Armstrong the 2026 Distinguished Citizen (see page 4).

When Principal Jimmy D’Andrea took the stage, he, like all the other speakers, expressed the value of gratitude, a central theme that resonated throughout the ceremony. He began by thanking each group that got each member of the graduating class to where they were standing in the Tsongas Center, about to leave the comfort of being an AHS student and moving onto becoming alumni, highlighting the strong support system and sense of community that defined the graduating class’s journey.

He also encouraged each graduate to “personally reach out and thank those individuals who made a difference in [their] lives,” reinforcing the ceremony’s message of appreciation, reflection, and recognition for the people who helped shape their high school experience.

Interim Superintendent Keith Taverna encouraged graduates to continue to make the community proud with the positive impact they will bring to the world.

To conclude the ceremony, Graduation Committee members Chloe Ahn and Margaret Farabaugh brought everyone together one last time. “Tonight we stand together because of the strong and spirited community we have built,” said Ahn.

Ahn concluded, “As we become graduates of Andover High School, we step into the world with purpose, passion, and pride… Congratulations class of 2026!”

Students, Faculty Travel to Scandinavia Over Spring Break

June 11, 2026

Samin Faiz || STAFF WRITER

Forty-two Andover High School students and seven chaperones visited Scandinavia this April.

After a six-hour flight from Boston to Reykjavík, Iceland, followed by a two-hour flight to Oslo, Norway, the group began their ten-day-long tour the Thursday before spring break. Through a combination of bus rides, overnight ferries, and countless miles on foot, the group made their way through five Northern European countries: Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia.

“I’ve been traveling with students since 2005, so this might be my 17th tour,” said Brian Shea, English teacher, organizer, and chaperone of the trip. “We’ve now done all of Europe, so Northern Europe was sort of our last frontier.”

Apart from the chaperones, the group was accompanied by a tour director named Yulia, whom Shea worked closely with to structure the daily itinerary and ensure a smooth trip.

In Scandinavia, English is widely spoken, so the language barrier was never a problem for the group. Sometimes, however, the students made connections in ways that transcend the spoken word.

“I played soccer with a bunch of people in Sweden,” recalled Hannah Arnold, a junior who participated in the trip. “That was probably the highlight of the trip for me.”

Arnold is no stranger to international travel. Just two months earlier, in fact, she joined her classmates on another school trip to Peru over winter break. However, for her twin sister, Grace Arnold, this was a brand-new experience.

“I met a lot of new people that I’ve never met before, especially people not in my grade,” Grace said. “It was really nice because I met a lot of great people through that and got to spend time with people I wouldn’t usually get to spend time with.”

The trip offered a flexible balance of group tours and independent exploration. “We had a lot of free time,” Grace noted. “We got to explore cities on our own and shop where we wanted. As long as you stayed in groups of three or more, you were free to roam the city.”

Students observed the region’s distinct economic models. Through agreements within the European Union and the Nordic Council, higher education is heavily subsidized or entirely free for regional citizens.

“It’s really interesting. They tax wealthier people a lot more and their overall tax rates are a lot higher,” one student observed. “The way they reinvest money back into infrastructure contributes to stronger public infrastructure. Education and health care are free, and they even offer stipends to cover the cost of living. Essentially, you pay a lot of taxes, but you get a lot in return.”

Students also noticed the societal impact of these safety nets. “Their unhoused population is significantly lower. If you want help, those systems are available to support you.”

The travelers’ curiosity and maturity left a strong impression on the faculty.

“These kids were wonderful,” said Shea. “All of the students were engaged. They were paying attention. They were enjoying it. They were wonderful travelers. To me, that was the biggest thrill.”

With the preparations for next year’s destinations already underway, the future of travel programs at AHS seems to be brimming with opportunities.

“Next year, we have two tours,” said Shea. “We’re running one tour to Barcelona and Madrid in February, and then we’re running another tour to Greece in April.”

Such opportunities are often highly selective at other schools, but luckily, these trips remain open to the entire student body at AHS.

“There’s no application process,” Shea emphasized. “We’re not looking at grades. We’re not looking at behavioral records. Anybody can sign up when we offer these tours. I put them out there, and I’m like, ‘If you want to go, come.’”

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First AP Art Class Added to ’22-’23 Curriculum

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