Highschool AP courses in Netacad

High school students are getting a new, direct on-ramp into technology careers — and Cisco Networking Academy is helping make it happen. Through the College Board’s new AP Career Kickstart program, Advanced Placement is expanding beyond its traditional subjects to include career-focused courses like AP Cybersecurity and AP Networking, with Cisco Networking Academy serving as a key instructional resource for schools nationwide.

What AP Career Kickstart Is

AP Career Kickstart is the College Board’s effort to connect high school coursework directly to in-demand careers. It pairs the academic rigor and college credit of Advanced Placement with the applied, hands-on nature of career and technical education (CTE). The first wave of courses targets high-growth fields — starting with cybersecurity and networking — so students can begin building real, job-relevant skills years earlier than they otherwise would.

Students who take these courses can earn college credit based on their AP Exam scores, along with industry-recognized credentials, giving them both an academic and a professional head start.

Cisco Networking Academy’s Role

For schools adopting these courses, Cisco Networking Academy provides the practical foundation that makes them easier to launch: a ready-to-teach curriculum, built-in hands-on labs, and professional development for the educators leading the classes. That support helps schools stand up technical programs without the equipment, resource, and expertise hurdles that usually come with them.

There is a credentialing bonus, too. Schools that choose Cisco Networking Academy as their instructional resource can prepare students for the Cisco Certified Support Technician (CCST) Cybersecurity certification — an industry-recognized signal of job-ready skills.

Proven in the Classroom

The early results are encouraging. During the 2025–2026 pilot, the AP Cybersecurity course reached roughly 3,100 students across 183 schools in 30 states, with strong teacher adoption and student engagement. Ahead of the national launch, nearly 500 educators registered for AP Summer Institutes to prepare to teach the new material.

What's Coming Next

AP Cybersecurity launches nationally in the 2026–2027 school year. AP Networking — which mirrors a typical first-year college networking course and has students configure, secure, and troubleshoot networks through real-world scenarios — enters its final pilot in fall 2026, with a nationwide rollout planned for 2027–2028.

Why It Matters

Initiatives like this tackle two challenges at once: a persistent shortage of skilled cybersecurity and networking professionals, and a growing need to make high school more relevant to the careers students actually want. By bringing college credit, hands-on labs, and industry credentials together — and by investing in the teachers who deliver it all — AP Career Kickstart is helping build a faster, more accessible pathway into technology careers.

For educators, it is also a reminder of how central their role remains. New courses only succeed when instructors are equipped to teach them well — which is exactly the kind of support and preparation we care about most.