Per the AP course description, as an AP Instructor, I "academically prepare students to pursue college-level studies—with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both—while still in high school." This involves preparing students to be critical thinkers and clear, concise rhetors in both verbal and written formats. Collegiate expectations for production of essays which clearly present a thesis and consequent development of a line of reasoning in a proper MLA format are assessed with various rubrics for formative and summative purposes. Students are fully prepared for the spring AP exam, as well as, equivalent benchmarks for English Comp 102. The pass rate for my AP students consistently outpace other FCHS AP course examinees every year since the program was adopted in 2017. The thrust of this course exposes students to literature from a myriad of periods and authors allows students to think about personal biases, lack of past exposure to the classics, and opens students to rekindling a love for reading. Every class begins with ten minutes of silent sustained reading by each student of a personally selected fiction or non-fiction text. Combining this freedom of choice with an environment in which students can speak freely and explore the less than obvious elements of an author’s point of view, writing style, and presentation of central life themes is essential for college level academics. It is gratifying to see seniors, who have not finished a book since elementary school without prompting, visit the school library or even purchase personal copies of a favorite author’s books. Renewed creativity and adherence to our two repeatedly expressed mottos, Winners Win and Effort over Everything, opens future opportunities in multiple directions.

Per the AP course description, as an AP Instructor, I "academically prepared students to pursue college-level studies—with the opportunity to earn college credit, advanced placement, or both—while still in high school." This involved preparing students to be critical thinkers and clear, concise rhetors in both verbal and written formats. Collegiate expectations for production of essays which clearly present a thesis and consequent development of a line of reasoning in a proper MLA format were assessed with various rubrics for formative and summative purposes. Students were fully prepared for the spring AP exam, as well as, equivalent benchmarks for English Comp 101. The pass rate for my AP students outpaced other FCHS AP courses every year since the program was adopted in 2017. Numerous students continue to contact me to relate how the training received in my course over prepared them for not only college level English coursework, but other academic areas as well. Small rules such as no contractions or personal pronouns in an academic essay are important. Preparation in simple rules and complicated debates is key. Allowing students to speak freely and explore the less than obvious elements of a rhetorical situation/subject is essential for college and life success. The two mottos repeatedly expressed are Winners Win and Effort over Everything. Once this becomes ingrained in a students mind, the sky is the limit and the future opens in multiple directions.