In Fall 2026, College Board launched a new college-level course. AP Business with Personal Finance was introduced to schools across the nation for the 2026-2027 school year, Florida High among them. As the school year moves into the second quarter, students and teachers are working together to navigate this brand new course.
At Florida High, the new course is being taught by Economics teacher Cierra Young. This year, Young is taking on three new courses, including African American History and Personal Finance alongside AP Business.
“I honestly was nervous [to teach the class], but I took some time to think about it when I was asked. I was like, ‘I don’t know if I’m the right person for this because I don’t have a business background’, but nobody else had the schedule for it. I knew my schedule was changing, and I was trying to figure out what else I could bring to the school,” Young said.
This new course gives students a glimpse into the world of business, allowing them to show their creativity and share their passions through creative business projects.
“It’s a different class because it’s more project-based than what I’m used to. It’s a lot more hands-on with the kids, in terms of actually practicing business concepts. I know AP Seminar and AP Research also have a presentation project-based aspect of it, but this is more so that students find something that they’re passionate about and have more flexibility and power over presenting themselves versus something that’s more formalized. I really think the kids are having fun with it,” Young said.
AP Business students are steadily adjusting to the new class, eager to see what else it has in store for them.
“I wanted an elective that I could see myself potentially using,” senior Ian Arroyo said. “I like the concepts of the material we’re learning, and I find it really interesting. I feel that it’s good for explaining some of the inner workings of business.”
Arroyo has taken eight other AP classes in his high school career, and recommends the class to others because of its moderate difficulty and simple but interactive nature.
“I would say it’s a more hands-on [class], because we’ve done lots of mini projects throughout this year so far,” Arroyo said.
Another class on Florida High’s catalog offers exciting new opportunities for students willing to take them on, and this group will be the first of many to embark on this business adventure at our school.
Garyn Washington, Chloe Hightower, and Liam Fulmer present their product pitch for their AP Business class. Students will develop this project throughout the year as they learn about business models and terminology.
Photo courtesy of Megan Crombie.
