Editorial: Program to pay for AP exams shows strong support for students in need

High school students in San Rafael are getting a helping hand toward greater academic achievement.

A local nonprofit, Karma Club, is helping out students from San Rafael and Terra Linda high schools pay for their advanced placement exams, tests that can qualify them for having passed some undergraduate courses and possibly reduce their college costs by reducing the number of lower-division classes they have to take and pass.

The goal of the program, FuturePrep, is to lower financial obstacles facing students from low- or moderate-income families so they can have equal access to these tests, which could cost from $63 to $99 each.

Many students are in two or three AP classes.

For example, FuturePrep recently paid the AP exams for 34 students – costing an average of about $350 each.

An anonymous family education foundation and contributions from individual donors are making this valuable assistance possible.

These are generous contributions aimed at making sure local students aren’t left behind because of their family’s financial challenges. The students have already met the challenges of qualifying for the AP classes and working to pass them. The cost of the AP exams should not be an obstacle, but for many students it has been.

FuturePrep is helping level the playing field, making sure all youths who have shown academic initiative and taken high school-provided AP classes can afford the exams conducted by private firms.

Students from families with more financial means can hire academic coaches and tutoring. That’s where Karma Club, located at Northgate mall, has stepped up and provided similar help to students from households where such academic assistance is beyond their budgets.

At Terra Linda, for example, there are an estimated 390 exams that are eligible for FuturePrep’s help.

It means students who are capable of passing their AP exams can take the tests without being prevented from that academic achievement by their cost.

“Anything we can do to eliminate barriers and increase access opportunities for our students is always appreciated,” said San Rafael High School Principal Joe Dominguez.

For many students, possibly too many even in our affluent county, this financial helping hand can be the difference between attending college or not.

Karma Club’s FuturePrep is just one example of Marin families’ generous support for the academic achievement of local youths, often bridging gaps created by income and race.

Programs such as SchoolsRule and Marin-based 10,000 Degrees strive to make a difference in providing equal access.

Karma Club’s teen community center and tutoring programs draw 50 to 70 local teens every day. Ten students from San Rafael’s Dominican University of California have also joined the nonprofit, helping out as student-learning interns.

Karma Club’s work is a sign that our community cares about its schools and the academic potential of our students.