Houston ISD launches program to support AP teachers

The Houston Independent School District has launched a program for Advanced Placement teachers to share resources and teaching strategies.

The AP teachers program lets instructors network and discuss the most effective ways of preparing students for AP exams, an opportunity for qualified students to gain college credit while still in high school. The district kicked off the program with an AP Teacher Orientation on Sept. 8 at Reagan High School. The orientation event gave teachers the chance to split up and discuss AP strategies by subject.

"The turnout we had on Saturday was remarkable and indicative of the need for teachers to have this community of support and resources," said college readiness school improvement officer Esti Arriaga in a press release. "We hope the AP teachers continue to take advantage of these opportunities and networking community to learn from fellow AP teachers, contribute to AP student achievement and build a strong network of HISD AP teachers."

More than 200 area AP teachers showed up for the teacher orientation to learn more about what they can improve in their teaching. Program facilitators led a discussion that covered pacing techniques and classroom resources that will help teachers and students in AP test preparation.

"The AP program is very important, and it requires the cooperation of many professionals in order to be effective in meeting its objectives," said Ileana Perez, AP Spanish lead facilitator. "There is so much information to be distributed and discussed. Through these meetings, we are allowed to share our firsthand experiences, which could be very helpful to a colleague if faced with the same or similar situation."

The AP Professional Learning Community will meet throughout the year to discuss techniques for improving HISD students' performance in more than 15 offered AP subjects. The goal is to improve the teaching strategy of AP subjects to help students become more comfortable with taking tests.

"I am really looking forward to getting to know the group, sharing awesome ideas and learning how to help out students be confident and successful on their AP tests," said social studies teacher Gabriela Worley. Being able to contact other teachers is really going to make a difference for me this school year."

For more information about Houston Independent School District events, visit houstonisd.org.