What if your AP class could connect what you’re learning in school to what you’re already doing in DECA?
That’s where AP Career Kickstart comes in. College Board’s new program is bringing career-connected subjects into the AP experience, starting with AP Business with Personal Finance and AP Cybersecurity.
It’s a chance for students to explore subjects they can actually see themselves using beyond the classroom.
And for DECA members, there’s an obvious connection.
Think about everything you do in DECA: coming up with business ideas, researching customers, creating marketing strategies, analyzing financial information, solving problems, and presenting your ideas. AP Business with Personal Finance brings many of those same skills into the classroom.
The course covers:
- Entrepreneurship and turning ideas into opportunities
- Marketing and understanding your customers
- Personal finance like saving, borrowing, budgeting, and investing
- Finance and accounting through real business situations
- Management and strategy through case studies and projects
And you won’t just be reading about these topics. Through the Business Canvas Project, students get to build out an entrepreneurial idea, while the Financial Advisor Project puts students in the role of making financial recommendations for a fictional household.
And there’s something for the advisors, too!
AP Summer Institutes (APSI) give AP educators 30 hours of professional learning to prepare for their courses. Teachers can explore resources, build lesson plans, create course calendars, work through student examples, and connect with other AP educators.
So, how can you get involved? If you’re a student, start the conversation with your DECA advisor, business teacher, AP coordinator, or counselor about bringing AP Business with Personal Finance to your school. If you’re an educator, check out College Board’s AP Summer Institute opportunities and start preparing for the classroom.
AP Career Kickstart is opening a new door, and DECA members already have a head start on what’s waiting on the other side.
