APES with Ms. Harvey: The Class of 2025’s Favorite High School Class
The Class of 2025 is in the final stretch, counting down the days until they stand on that stage and receive their diplomas. Whether people admit it or not, nostalgia is a big part of senior year, and what better way to be nostalgic than to revisit the Class of 2025's favorite class in all of high school?
After a careful voting process, the senior class has chosen Advanced Placement Environmental Science (APES), taught by Ms. Harvey, as their favorite class throughout their four-year high school careers.
Ms. Harvey has taught at The Galloway School for seven years and has taught APES for a total of four years. She started her Galloway tenure teaching biology and chemistry, but wanted to combine her love for both subjects and take it to the next level which led her to teach APES today.
Ms. Harvey's APES class is known as one of the most interactive and interesting classes at the school. When asked how she cultivated this environment and reputation, she said, "I strive to keep my classes engaging by encouraging students to share their outside-of-class experiences and explore concepts through hands-on labs. In labs, we sometimes use simple tools like bubbles and cookies to model complex concepts." The students I interviewed about this class have repeatedly said that Ms. Harvey has a gift for making difficult AP concepts easy to understand in an engaging and hands-on manner. This is what makes Ms. Harvey so beloved—it’s her ability to make a school subject that may not be interesting to all something you look forward to when you show up for class.
Throughout all nine units of the APES curriculum, Ms. Harvey includes at least one lab per unit, and it is often a highlight for most students. Ms. Harvey reflected on one of her students' favorite labs and said, "Students love labs where they can get their hands dirty and design things. One lab I’ve done that students have loved year after year is using bubbles to model survivorship curves." Caroline Lackey, who took the class as a sophomore, loved this lab and said, "It was a great way to see survivorship curves that weren't just on a graph, and gave me an alternative perspective, which helped with my understanding for the test." Multiple students who have taken the class agree that these labs give them another way to view a concept, helping their understanding tremendously—all thanks to Ms. Harvey's ability to create labs that are easy to understand, yet explore difficult concepts.
Ms. Harvey is one of the most beloved teachers at the school, so I wanted to figure out her "thousand island dressing"—how she created such a strong bond with her students that makes them excited to come to class every day. Ms. Harvey said, "I strive to treat my students as I would my own child—I want to be approachable, supportive, and focused on their learning. The way the class is structured, it’s all about learning and not punitive. My goal is to cultivate an environment where they feel encouraged to seek help, make mistakes, and keep learning." As a student, one of the most frightening things is making a mistake and being ridiculed for it, but Ms. Harvey has created an environment where students feel safe, willing to make mistakes, and ultimately learn through her class and openness to answer questions outside of class.
Finally, I asked Ms. Harvey, beyond the class and the subject, what she wants students to take away from her as a teacher, and from APES in general. She said, "I would love my students to learn to care for each other and the world and work hard even if success isn't guaranteed—you may not always get a 100 on something, but that’s okay. I also want my students to keep learning and finding new ways to approach challenges." In APES, you talk a lot about what is wrong with the world, but there’s also a component that talks about solutions. You learn about the true beauty of our world, and after taking this course, most students feel they have the knowledge to make a positive impact on the future.
Ms. Harvey has inspired her students to embrace challenges, care for the world around them, and continue learning long after they leave Galloway. As they move on to the next chapter, lessons like these will stay with them, helping shape their futures.
By Avner Belsky