From Nov. 28 to Dec. 7, Foothill and Amador Valley High School worked together to hold a test prep book drive, a way for students to donate their old SAT, ACT, and AP test books to those in need.

“I would hear students joking about how little they had actually used their prep books. They would throw 3-5 books away after each AP test cycle. Like it or not, test prep books or prep materials can make a difference in SAT/ACT/AP test scores. But this help often comes at a price, for upwards of $20-30 per book, putting a price tag on success,” said Foothill student and PUSD Board of Trustees member Annabelle Kim (‘23).

In order to motivate students to donate, prizes were being given to clubs who donated the most books. At Foothill High School, the Neuroscience Club, Tutor’s Club, and Lean on Us donated a considerable amount to the drive. At Amador Valley, Girls Who Code donated sixteen books.

“There was a prize for the club who donated the most to talk about what our mission is and what we do. We thought it would be a really great opportunity if we could do that. As for organizing the prep book drive in our club, it was mainly just sending out a lot of reminders. We just had people bring in their books to Mr. Kiyoi’s room, and we also had this raffle ticket system, so each prep book that a student donated would give them a raffle ticket,” said Girls Who Code president April Gong (‘23).

Donations at Amador were collected in a box in the front office, straight down the hallway upon entering by the attendance office. Boxes were emptied and books were stored in the principal’s office when the box filled up.

“We are probably on our fourth box of donated books. They are being stored back in the principal’s office. When I arrived my first day, there was already a full box waiting first thing in the morning,” said Amador counseling secretary Louise Strauch.

The books will stay within PUSD and given to students in need. The goal is to finish the first  distribution by January. This way students will get access to physical books and not have to rely  on pdfs and websites that come with paywalls.

“The practice tests that were available were really helpful, but in looking for the same resources online, I realized that there were barely any. With any resource or study method, different people obviously learn and succeed in different ways, but I benefited a lot from that realistic practice,” said Kim.