1. WHY OFFERING MORE AP CLASSES ARE ESSENTIAL TO 21 ST CENTURY STUDENTS Tracey L. Cooper-Singleton Midterm ELAD540

3. IS VERONA OFFERING “ALL” OF THE 10 MOST POPULAR EXAMS 10 MOST POPULAR AP EXAMS IN NJ.docx Click

4. The following excel spreadsheet compares and contrast the AP classes being offered by other “I” - District Factor Groups (DFGs). I GROUP DFG COMPARISON AP COURSES singleton.xlsx THERE ARE MORE THAN 30 AP COURSES OFFERED WITH SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE…ARE WE MISSING SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE WITH ONLY 14 COURSES BEING OFFERED? The following chart is a snapshot of how many courses out of 30 are being offered by each “I” group NOTE: Verona’s number of student participants 27.7% is higher than the state’s average of 19%; but lags behind Glenridge (42.9%), Livingston (34.5%), Montclair (35.8%), West Essex (28.6%) and South-Orange Maplewood (34%) when it comes to number of students participating in AP courses. CEDAR GROVE VERONA CALDWELL GLENRIDGE WEST ESSEX MONTCLAIR S.ORANGE LIVINGSTON 10 out of 30 33% 14 out of 30 47% 15 out of 30 50% 16 out of 30 53% 21 out of 30 70% 26 out of 30 87% 26 out of 30 87% 28 out of 30 93% Click

9. GOAL: By the end of June 2014, VERONA High should be offering 5 additional AP courses; with student participants that are capable of scoring a 3 or greater on the corresponding AP exam. ACTION ITEMS TIMELINE RESPONSIBLE PARTY OUTCOME Formation of Y-AP committee; including students, parents, teachers who will create a timeline of implementation ,administer and analyze surveys that assess student/parent interest in AP courses currently NOT offered. Also, seek community partners, donors, and/or sponsors – including possible federal aid initiatives/incentives SAMPLE TIMELINE 3-6 months Y-AP committee Seek grants to implement more AP courses; share survey findings info. with school; RECRUIT DIVERSE , INTEREST STUDENTS, regardless of race, culture, creed, and/or disabilities…PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR TEACHERS TEACHING AP Teacher training and/or recruiting of teachers capable of teaching AP courses NOT offered 1-year Principal/Superintendent Increase staff teaching AP and/or hire staff capable of teaching AP Onsite PD from Collegeboard trainers & and/or collaborations with neighboring schools On-going Teachers/Principal/Superintendent Increased capacity to teach AP courses and higher rate of students scoring 3 or greater on AP exams Annual AP conference July 14-18, 2010 – Y-AP committee enlist interested teachers/staff - provided and fill out necessary PD paperwork 3-4 months Y-AP committee Professional networking/increased understanding of AP courses; turnkey information to student body Click sample

10. The following questions are things to consider: How many students in AP classes versus general education classes score proficient and advanced proficient on test? Is there a correlation between AP classes and students performing advanced proficient on HSPA ? What cluster areas need improvement? What cluster areas are strong? Analyze students meeting minimum requirements on HSPA; and students exceeding (advanced proficient) Cost analysis of instituting more AP courses – teachers, teaching materials, resources, training, etc. Does Verona have an AP Coordinator and/or Counselors, who can properly promote new AP courses and initiatives?

11. The following questions are things to consider: Shared services – can AP courses be shared with neighboring “I” groups and/or can AP courses be implemented virtually? Are there in house teachers capable of teaching AP course – after receiving proper training? Is there need to recruit more teachers with AP teaching credentials? How can we make AP course more accessible for ALL learners, especially students that are traditionally underrepresented in AP courses (i.e. blacks, hispanics, low-income, etc.)? How do we increase number of students taking exams that enrolled in AP courses? What are useful strategies for scoring a 3 or above on AP exams? How can we assist students in seamlessly transferring credits to colleges/universities once they successfully complete AP courses? WHAT PRE-AP courses are we offering to middle school students to prepare them as good candidates for AP courses in high school?

12. The goal of Advanced Placement Strategies - APS is to maximize the number of students who pass AP exams. Launched in August 2000 by an individual donor, APS develops and manages AP Incentive Programs ™ throughout the State of Texas. An AP Incentive Program is a partnership between Texas schools, businesses, and the philanthropic community, whereby a private donor provides incentives for students, teachers and schools to strengthen AP participation. These programs are modeled after a successful similar program designed and implemented by the O'Donnell Foundation in the Dallas area. http://www.apstrategies.org/about/ Advanced Placement Strategies™, Inc. (APS) is a section 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that works with Texas schools and the private sector to manage Advanced Placement™ (AP ® ) and Pre-AP ® incentive programs for students, teachers, and schools