Keith Richard, principal of Nashua High School South (right), and Nathan Burns, principal of Nashua High School North, went before the Board of Education on May 11 to share the success of the district’s Advanced Placement program. Courtesy image/Nashua ETV

NASHUA – Keith Richard, principal of Nashua High School South, and Nathan Burns, principal of Nashua High School North, recently went before the Board of Education to share the success of the district’s Advanced Placement program.

During the May 11 meeting, the principals said that every year, more than 15 AP courses are offered at each school in multiple subjects with psychology, calculus and economics being the most popular disciplines.

They also said students receive college credit if they score a four or a five on an AP Exam.

At Nashua South, 284 students were enrolled in AP classes in 2025. This included 74 seniors, 87 juniors, 72 sophomores and 51 freshmen. Within last year’s total figure, 259 students scored at least a three on their AP exams.

“Three is kind of like the benchmark and 91 percent of the students at Nashua High School South achieved that mark,” said Richard, adding that in 2021, 75 percent of AP students earned a three or better.

He said students in the Career and Technical Education program can take AP classes as well.

“We’re very lucky with our course catalog that we offer so many different pathways,” said Richard, adding that AP classes also include students with learning disabilities.

Nashua South senior Aadi Kulkarni said he wanted to take AP classes in high school as he had not been sufficiently challenged in middle school.

“I really wanted to advance myself,” he said.

Although his primary interests were in STEM and engineering, Kulkarni found his AP Government class to be particularly valuable.

“Prior to taking AP Government, I didn’t know much about policy or politics,” he said. “It really opened my eyes, especially to understanding how much power students had in our own government, how much we could influence legislation by speaking to local representatives.”

With his newfound knowledge of government operations, Kulkarni advocated for the passage of a House Resolution to address digital illiteracy among New Hampshire’s senior population.

In addition to his success in numerous AP classes, in 2025, Kulkarni was the New Hampshire winner of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize and the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes. He is also the president of the Math Honor Society, the operations lead for DECA and founded TechPals in 2022 when he was just 15 years old.

At Nashua North, Burns said AP enrollment climbed from 165 students in 2021 to 214 students last year. Last year’s group included 76 seniors, 72 juniors, 30 sophomores and 35 freshmen. Within the total figure, 86 percent of students scored a three or higher on their AP exams, a 23 percent increase from 2021.

Burns also said he and his colleagues are using AP Potential to bolster enrollment in those classes. Put out by the College Board, AP Potential is a free online tool that studies students’ scores on the PSAT 9 and PSAT 10. Using that data, AP Potential produces a list of students who are likely to score a three or higher on an AP exam.

“Some of it is just getting them out of their comfort zone,” Burns said of encouraging prospective students. “The skills that they gain out of an AP class are really going to benefit them in life.”