Starting in the 2026–2027 school year, the district and the CTE department will be introducing new changes involving dual credit and AP courses. This update aims to expand advanced opportunities for students across multiple pathways.
“There’s a big change, district-wide,” CTE department chairperson Brian Veit said. “All dual credit classes in this district are now going to be coded with honors credit. So they are going to be weighted.”
Many dual credit teachers share similar beliefs when it comes to the benefits offered to students as a result of this change.
“Many schools in the DuPage area are already making this change of turning dual credit to honors, so this evens the playing field,” CTE dual credit teacher Marcos Rico said. “Dual credit is a college-level course, so I think it’s only fair that students get that GPA boost, as it could open doors to scholarships and entry-level jobs.”
There is also going to be a new AP course introduced, titled AP Business with Personal Finance. Being piloted in schools across the country by College Board for the first time in 2026-27, this is a year-long course available for grades nine through twelve. However, it is geared more towards underclassmen with the intent of making AP more accessible earlier in high school. At DGN, this will be the first time an AP course has been available to freshmen.
“It is just going to be geared towards students who are really wanting to major in business when they go to college and get that first solid foundation,” Veit said. “If you’re thinking, okay, I want to take as many business classes as possible. If you want to take accounting, want to be in Incubator, the AP business is going to be a really solid start.”
AP Business is unique in the way that, along with the AP exam and potentially earning college credit, it also comes with workplace certifications and credentials that students can use in the future. It also satisfies the consumer education graduation credit.
“We adopt new courses to continuously strengthen our educational offerings, ensuring every student is fully prepared for their future, and to align our curriculum with the specific, measurable goals outlined in our District’s Strategic Plan,” associate principal for curriculum and instruction Keith Palz said. “Our Strategic Plan, titled ‘Future Focused, Future Ready,’ sets the direction for all our educational decisions, including curriculum.”
The way AP Business is structured is different from many traditional AP courses, specifically with a strong emphasis on project-based learning.
“The first semester is going to students working on a simulated project, using a canvas model to start a business. There’s a little bit of entrepreneurial ability. Everything’s going to be more in-depth, from accounting to finance to marketing,” Veit said.
With AP Business with Personal Finance, there is the challenge of aligning and planning lessons to fit according to the College Board timeline, especially the first time around. Nonetheless, the advantages this class offers students outweigh the potential obstacles, and students are excited to use this to expand their horizons.
“I think that if I were to take this class, I would take it because it’s a new opportunity and seems very interesting,” freshman Weston Ittner said. “It would also be cool to be the first to do something new.”
