The After the AP Challenge Makes Room for Teachers to Learn Too

Mary Velez, Mathematics Teacher at Roy C. Ketcham High School in New York, has been using Skew the Script since it first launched—first integrating the lessons into her statistics classroom and eventually joining the inaugural After the AP Data Science Challenge. A collaborative effort between Data Science 4 Everyone (DS4E), the North Carolina State Data Science Academy, and Course Kata, the challenge is designed for the post-AP exam stretch in AP Statistics and invites students to explore real-world datasets, write code, and tell data-driven stories about issues that matter to them.

For Mary, the transition from traditional curriculum to the challenge was a natural one—but not without its nerves. “It was intimidating at first because I hadn’t coded in some time,” Mary said. Still, she leaned into the opportunity and gave her students the freedom to choose their next step. “I gave them the choice,” she recalls. “I told them you guys can do the project that we thought we were going to do all year or you can do this, or you can do both. I actually had a couple of groups choose to do both.”

Mary’s students were already big fans of the curriculum. “They were the ones who were actually very onboard because they loved the curriculum already.” Mary soon found herself learning alongside her students—and sometimes even relying on them to help her through the more technical parts of the challenge. “I had no problem going up to one of my kids and saying ‘I have no idea how to do that.’”

That collaborative energy shaped the culture of her classroom. “It’s not you standing up in front, it’s you sitting down next to them,” she says. “Giving them that seminar feel that you hope college classes are going to look like for them. Ideally, a lot of these students are going to be going out and partnering with professors to do research so you’re kind of introducing them to that round table kind of scenario.”

Building Confidence—Together

Participating in the challenge—and later serving as an instructor for the Data Science and AI Bootcamp—gave Mary more confidence in leading future cohorts through the experience. After piloting the After the AP Challenge, she joined the bootcamp team to help guide other teachers through the process. “Now that I’ve also gone through the Data Science and AI Bootcamp and done the challenge, I feel much more confident.”

But even before she felt fully prepared, Mary saw the value in learning alongside her students. “It’s okay not to be the most knowledgeable one in the room,” she says. “It’s okay to embrace it, just as I did that first year and say, ‘Alright guys, we’re learning this together, and there’s a high likelihood you’re going to learn it faster than me.’ Having that community already in your classroom where that’s already allowed and expected, that is a great atmosphere to learn in.”

Mary also appreciates how the challenge reframes what it means to code—and who gets to do it. “We have this vision of coding and people learning how to code while sitting in a cubicle with no interaction, just staring at a screen. But that’s really not at all what this is about,” she says. “It’s about saying these are the statistics, these are the things we bring to the table, how can we use this technology to help us navigate this more effectively.”

Even students in her class who weren’t initially excited about the prospect of coding ended up surprising themselves. “Not only did the challenge make coding accessible for students,” she says, “it made it a resource they can use as they move on. They wouldn’t have had that experience any other way.”

Advice to Fellow Educators

Mary’s advice for other teachers considering the challenge? “It’s very doable if you’re comfortable being vulnerable with your kids.” For Mary, being honest with students that you're learning alongside your students is the key to building community around the challenge.

Mary’s students ultimately walked away from the After the AP Challenge proud—not just of their projects, but of their impact. “They loved knowing they were going to be providing feedback and knowing they could be involved in giving feedback to make the challenge even better for years to come.”

Teachers interested in bringing the same experience to their students can sign up now for the 2025 After the AP Data Science Challenge. This free, two-week project is designed for AP Statistics and AP Computer Science classes to tackle a real-world problem using modern data science tools. This year’s challenge asks students to use Department of Education data to build predictive models and determine which colleges “pay off” the most in terms of student loan outcomes. 

The challenge begins on May 5, 2025, and the teacher registration deadline is April 18. An optional national competition closes on June 6, recognizing the top student models from across the country. No prior coding experience is required—just curiosity, internet access, and a week or two after AP testing to dive into real-world learning.