When David Wellington first heard that the Bellevue School District opens its college-level Advanced Placement gates to every 11th and 12th grade student, his reaction was similar to many responses he has heard since he started working for the district 12 years ago.

“Yeah right, that’s not possible,” the Bellevue High School principal recalled during a recent Lunch & Learn forum that 40 parents attended. The event was sponsored by the Bellevue Schools Foundation.

Since then, Wellington has held a different perception.

“The whole idea of advanced placement is really not about 11th and 12 grade students – it’s not about the college experience,” he said of the international AP program that offers 37 college-level courses across 22 subject areas to prepare students for college. “It’s about the entire experience from kindergarten through grade 12 and until they get their doctorate.”

On a national level, 75 percent of high school graduates go on to college, he said. However, the number of students who actually complete college is much lower.

“Part of the reason why it’s lower is because students aren’t prepared for college,” Wellington noted. “The goal for the Bellevue School District is not just to get students to college – it’s to have students succeed in college.”

One of the major indicators of whether students will be successful in college is how well they do in math, he said. Many students get to college, take that first entrance requirement and find they have to start below college-level math.

“Most students typically will find they are not working towards their college diploma, they get discouraged and that starts the ball rolling,” he said.

At Bellevue High School, by the time students reach their junior year, on average about 60 percent of students are ready to take college-level math. By their senior year, 80 percent are ready.

College-level AP gives the district an external validation of how it is doing to get students ready, he said.

Last year, Bellevue High School had more than 200 AP scholars and students took nearly 1,500 AP exams. In addition, 96 percent of Bellevue’s class of 2007 went on to college.

During the forum, parents had a chance to speak out.

One mother said she has seen students take as many as six AP courses at once and was concerned that they are at risk of becoming overachievers – and overwhelmed.

In terms of policies, Bellevue High School does not allow students to take more than three college-level classes without teacher and parent consent, Wellington said.

He also noted that the AP drive has had the opposite effect.

Last year, 47 students applied to Stanford University. Though only three were accepted, the fact that so many students applied suggests that students have become more driven and competitive to succeed, he added.

Debra Kumar, mother of a Tyee Middle School student and one at Somerset Elementary, was concerned that with an AP focus, students will lose out on other academic opportunities.

“The message is AP, AP, AP,” Kumar said, “and we think that’s what the colleges are looking for as well.”

The district should change its focus, she added, so students will try other classes that are just as important.

The push has been “pretty direct and pretty significant” to prepare students for college, Wellington said.

“But there does need to be a balance. Having a number of AP classes in core areas is important for students and is something we really believe in, but we also want to see students take the art classes, culinary classes and try the automotive classes. So we spend a lot of time trying to push that in as well.”

Carrie Wood can be reached at cwood@reporternewspapers.com or 425-453-4290.