Mr. Noto is not at all afraid to proclaim exactly what he thinks of the AP course structure in one word: “disgusting.”

In AP courses, the grades are primarily based on a single exam at the end of a two semester course, which, at least according to Mr. Noto, doesn’t truly reflect the ability of the students. That’s why he and other teachers at BHS have been searching for a better high-level economics class for years. This year they have finally found the solution: SUPA Economics.

In the mid to late ‘90s, BHS had a one-semester, half credit course called ‘Advanced Economics,’ which consisted of enough students to teach three or four sections of the class. But as the years went on, the number of students taking Advanced Economics steadily declined to the point where, in the 2005-2006 school year, there weren’t even enough students to fill just one section.

To find the answer to this constant decrease in student interest, the teachers polled students in AP American History, the feeder course for Advanced Economics.

Their response? For a non-AP, the class was difficult and not worth the half-credit. Students were worried that the course might negatively affect their GPA.

So in preparation for the 2006-2007 school year, Principal Nancy Hackett looked around for an alternative to the unsuccessful course. The answer she found was in the form of a 30-year-old program: Syracuse University Project Advance (SUPA). Run by Syracuse University as an effort to better prepare high school students for college, SUPA offers courses that are offered at the university as well as at high schools in Maine, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

According to a Syracuse University brochure, taking a college course in high school “offers you the opportunity to experience the depth of learning and critical thinking that will be expected of you when you matriculate into…university or college.” Like colleges and universities, students must buy their own textbook and pay tuition for the high school courses. However, the cost of tuition is only $110 per credit hour, as opposed to the ten times more that they would have had to pay had they taken the course at Syracuse University. And upon completion of Syracuse Economics 203, students receive three college credits, a Syracuse University transcript, and half a credit from BHS. No, not just AP credits, actual college credits, transferable to many colleges like Cornell University. Ninety-three percent of students who sent the SU transcript to other colleges or attended SU received recognition, meaning credit, placement, or exemption- from their SUPA courses.

Although the program may seem too good to be true, only about one percent of students who take SUPA courses actually enroll in the university. According to the SUPA website, “Project Advance is not a profit center or a recruiting tool for SU.” Mr. Noto thinks that Syracuse feels responsible for improving students’ education nationally. The university ensures quality instruction by requiring teachers to have at least enough credits to earn a major in the subject they wish to teach and by reviewing teachers’ college transcripts and resumes. High school teachers who qualify become adjunct professors.

“If you take the class, there’s no doubt you are in for the mother of all challenges,” said Vlad Gudovich, a senior at BHS. “Although the class is VERY difficult, it is not at all boring. The material does not sparkle with excitement, but Noto does.”