Teachers Take a Crash Course As County Strives for More AP

Nelson Hernandez:

John E. Deasy, the superintendent of Prince George's County schools, issued a decree soon after taking charge a year ago: Each of the county's 22 high schools will offer at least eight Advanced Placement courses next year.

He got funding for the expansion, which would increase the number of students in the county taking AP courses by 25 percent. Now he just needs the teachers.

The effort to mobilize the teaching corps brought about 80 current and prospective AP teachers to Charles H. Flowers High School on a recent Saturday morning for a series of workshops in AP English, math, social studies and science. The workshops are run by the College Board, which administers the AP exams and recently announced that it will audit courses to ensure that they meet college standards.

"You can't just say to people, 'Get more kids in AP classes,' unless you have the teachers," Deasy said. He'll need as many as 200 certified to teach the advanced courses by the fall. As he walked from classroom to classroom, he added: "I can't hold you accountable for doing something without giving you the skills to do it."

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 8, 2007 12:33 AM
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