AP Students Build Skills for Their Future Careers

80% of students want more opportunities to build skills in high school, research tells us. And according to a panel of educators and administrators at the 2026 AP Annual Conference, parents want the same thing. They’re invested in knowing that the material their kids are learning will be relevant to their future. 

During the session, “From AP Skills to Future Pathways,” Richard Green, executive director of BigFuture Community at College Board, led a discussion with education experts on how schools can help students (and their families) see the connection between academic skills they may develop in AP coursework and the skills students need to pursue future careers. 

The panelists included: 

• Brian Landisi, director of student intervention and accountability at Glendale Unified School District (California) 
• Lena Kortoshian, senior director of teaching, learning, and family engagement at Glendale Unified School District (California) 
• Stephanie Kirk, AP Language and Composition teacher at Heritage High School and Niswonger Foundation (Tennessee) 
• Jess Perry-Martin, AP Art and Design teacher at ArTES Magnet High School (California) 

The following is an abridged version of the panel discussion. 

Richard Green:  
Lena, when you talk to families and hear folks in your community speak about career and what's important to them, what do the families tell you? 

Lena Kortoshian:  
Part of my responsibility is to work with families. Families have high expectations. They really want enrichment programs starting from elementary. They want students to be in STEM. They want students to learn other languages. 

Parents want confidence that, when their child leaves high school, they have choices. It's not just the academics, it is what's next for them. The parents want the AP skills—and how is that going to be translated to the outside world? Parents want clear pathways and guidance.  

Fast forward to when they get to high school, students take career technical education classes. What is important is that the last course—the capstone course—if you link it as an AP course, it will give students not only the boost of GPA or college credit but [also] the career piece is there. The hands-on piece is there. The outside world can be included. So if a high school is teaching business, the capstone course can be AP Business [with Personal Finance].  

Richard Green:  
Lena, I'm glad you brought up parents because our research shows [that] parents are the number one influence on students’ post-secondary decisions, [then] teachers. 
 
Let's say you talk to a skeptical parent that says, “Can you give me one example of how AP is relevant for real life and careers?” What do you say to that skeptical parent? 

Stephanie Kirk:  
I love this question because I think it's so ingrained in what we naturally do as educators. And I think it perfectly aligns with this concept that parents and guardians want students to have choices.  

My job is to prepare them for not today or tomorrow or next year, but their next big move. [I teach] AP Language and Composition. We're going to read and write. What's one job—one career—where you don't have to read or write? 

I think AP Lang is the perfect intro course because we talk about real world skills. We're going to analyze arguments. We're going to evaluate multiple perspectives. We're going to look at the things that employees actually want.  

Jess Perry-Martin:  
I teach in Los Angeles. We're the creative capital of California—1 in 6 jobs is a creative-based job. So when I have parents come into our school and say, “What's the point of my kid taking AP Art?”, one of the things that I always tell parents is your kid is likely to work in a creative field. The skills that they take out of AP Art and Design will be transferred directly to a future career. 

Now, is it going to be that they're painting or drawing or sculpting? Probably not. But are they able to critically think about the work that they're making? Can they tell a compelling story about that work? Can they work in community or collaborate with other creative people? They definitely can.  

And the other thing is I work at a Title 1 school, so 90% of our students receive free and reduced lunch. So when you're speaking about the disengaged teen, not only are students disengaged because life is challenging for them, but they're also facing a lot of community challenges. 

My AP class is a place where we are risk takers. It's one of the safest places to learn how to explore an idea, to make a thing, and to rely on other people to uplift us. I think those are really valuable skills.  

Brian Landisi:  
I was thinking about something that Jess said about how we want our kids to be risk takers, and you build that as part of your classroom community. And not to add something more on the shoulders of educators, but I really see that as being very important: our role in creating community and creating this space, whether it's AP or non AP classes. 

One of my responsibilities in the district is to manage our surveys. And we're finding, particularly in AP, that our students are really picking up skills like being more empathetic. They're able to listen to classmates without starting an argument, or being more receptive, or having more of a growth mindset. That risk taking thing. That grit. And also seeing things from a different perspective.  

So as we kind of think as a group here about what our role is in making skills visible, we actually have to teach it almost explicitly. 

Starting in 2026-27 school year, BigFuture School will support students enrolled in eligible AP courses, bringing more opportunities for college and career exploration throughout the high school journey. Learn more.