Abstract

National Governors Association (NGA) AP Expansion Project

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction received a two-year grant of $500,000 from the National Governors Association for expanding Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities in 9 Wisconsin school districts. The project received a no-cost extension through June, 2008.

The school districts include one urban district, Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD), and a consortium of eight rural districts in southwestern Wisconsin including:

  • Cashton
  • Benton
  • DeSoto
  • Ithaca
  • Pecatonica
  • Platteville
  • River Valley
  • Viroqua

Aims

The aims of this pilot project are to:
  1. Increase the number of AP courses by 50% in participating schools.
  2. Expand the pool of AP teachers and coordinators in participating schools through advocacy and professional development.
  3. Expand resources and delivery options for AP coursework.

Partners

Partners include the Office of the Governor, the College Board, CESAs 3, 4, 6, and 9, the Wisconsin Academy Staff Development Initiative (WASDI), and the UW-Madison. The outside evaluation will be conducted by the UW-Madison’s Center on Education and Work (CEW).

Activities

major activity of the project will be summer institutes in 2006 and 2007 for current and prospective AP teachers from the middle and high school levels, administrators, guidance counselors, AP coordinators, and learning coaches. In 2006, professional development will focus on science and mathematics instructors with a special emphasis on developing a model for AP Environmental Science. WASDI will support an on-going cadre of local AP leaders.

Delivering AP courses via distance learning is encouraged by the grant and activities include training local education guides to support students in their video and on-line AP courses. The Wisconsin Virtual School, CESA 9, Tomahawk and the Wisconsin Advanced Placement Distance Learning Consortium, and UW-Madison Center on Education and Work are providing AP courses for partner schools.

Media

NGA AP Expansion Project Powerpoint