Richlands High School Advanced Placement Program: presentation to the North Carolina House Education K-12 Committee
Summary
A slide presentation on the Richlands High School Advanced Placement Program, a traditional 9-12 rural high school in Onslow County, NC, given to a North Carolina House education committee. It reports average daily membership of 908 before COVID-19 and 833 currently, 52 teachers and 3 administrators, 42.9% economically disadvantaged students and 487 AP courses taken in 2019-20. The school offers ten AP courses, up from 5 AP courses, 97 AP students and 170 exams at the program's start. The slides list the program's essential elements, such as year-long AP scheduling and the belief that all students can be AP students, and close with charts on teacher and student numbers from 2015 to 2021.
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RICHLANDS HIGH SCHOOL
ADVANCED PLACEMENT PROGRAM
• Located in Onslow County, NC
• Traditional 9-12 High School
• Pre COVID-19 ADM: 908
• Current ADM: 833
ABOUT
• Setting: Rural (Jacksonville/Camp Lejeune)
RICHLANDS
• 52 Teachers, 3 Administrators
HIGH
SCHOOL • Economically Disadvantaged: 42.9% (18-19)
• Advanced Placement Courses Taken: 487 (19-20)
Richlands High School will motivate and prepare our
students for a rapidly changing world by instilling
critical thinking skills, a global perspective, and a
respect for the core values of honesty, loyalty,
RHS perseverance, and compassion.
MISSION
• Ten Courses Offered:
• AP Capstone Seminar
• AP Capstone Research
• AP Computer Science Principles
ABOUT THE • AP Environmental Science
AP • AP United States History
PROGRAM • AP Government and Politics
• AP Calculus AB and BC
• AP Language and Composition
• AP Literature and Composition
• AP Psychology
• A highly qualified, well-trained, and motivated
educator in every classroom.
• A focus on rigor, feedback, and high-yield
instructional strategies.
• Continuous improvement through professional
development.
ESSENTIAL • Robust support structures for students and
ELEMENTS teachers.
FOR AP • Recruiting and retention of students.
• A master schedule that supports year-long Advanced
Placement courses.
• A shared belief that all students can be AP students.
• A belief that the skills learned in AP courses will
transfer for college-bound, military-bound, and
workforce-bound students.
WHERE DID WE
START?
STATE OF • 5 AP Courses offered
AP • 97 AP Students
PROGRAM • 170 Exams taken
IN 2015-16
WHERE ARE WE
NOW?
• Since 2015-16:
• The number of face-to-face courses has increased from 5
to 10.
STATE OF
• The number of students taking AP courses has increased
AP from 97 to 205.
PROGRAM • The number of students taking AP tests has increased from
IN 2019-20 170 to 378.
• AP Capstone is a diploma program from the College Board.
It’s based on two yearlong AP courses: AP Seminar and AP
Research.
• Students can earn the AP Capstone Diploma or the AP
Seminar and Research Certificate.
• Rather than teaching subject-specific content, these courses
ADDITION develop students’ skills in research, analysis, evidence-based
OF AP arguments, collaboration, writing, and presenting. Students
who complete the two-year program can earn one of two
CAPSTONE different AP Capstone awards, which are valued by colleges
across the United States and around the world.
Number of AP Students
250
205
200 195
150 141
AP STUDENTS
97
100
89
50
0
15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20
AP Tests Taken
450
400
378
371
350
300
250
TESTS TAKEN
232
200
170
157
150
100
50
0
15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 19-20
• 10th Annual AP District Honor Roll
• Awarded to 250 school districts in USA and Canada that
simultaneously achieved increases in access to Advanced Placement
courses for a broader number of students and also maintained or
improved the rate at which their AP students earned scores of 3 or
higher on an AP Exam.
• Onslow County Schools is one of two NC school districts to earn
the award.
• AP Computer Science Female Diversity Award
AWARDS • Recognizes schools that are closing the gender gap and engaging
more female students in computer science coursework in AP
Computer Science Principles (AP CSP) and AP Computer Science A
(AP CSA).
• Out of more than 18,000 secondary schools worldwide that offer
AP courses, only 685 have achieved this important result.
• Richlands High School was awarded the APCSP Female Diversity
Award in 2019 and 2020.
• AP Readers
• Two RHS teachers now serve as AP readers:
• Evaluate and score AP students' free responses,
ensuring that high school students receive AP
grades that accurately reflect college-level
achievement in a specified discipline.
TEACHER • Exchange ideas and experiences, as well as build
LEADERSHIP friendships with a network of high school
teachers and college faculty.
• Teachers are compensated for this activity.
EXCELINED
HOW HAVE WE
GOTTEN HERE?
• Taking the AP test is an expectation for all students
enrolled in an AP course.
• The master schedule supports year-long AP courses,
while allowing students to still participate in dual
enrollment, fine and performing arts, CTE, and other
elective courses. Our goal is to limit the number of
conflicts within the school day.
NON-
NEGOTIABLES • There are no pre-conceived notions of who an “AP
Student” is. (Equity of access)
FOR • Professional development for educators and student
STUDENTS supports are high-priority budget items.
AND STAFF • Articulation with our feeder middle school is critical
to recruiting and retention.
• Counselors work one-on-one with families to
complete 4-year plans that are future-focused.
• AP teachers are expected to engage in professional
development opportunities.
• The AVID program helps to open student access to
advanced coursework.
• AVID teaches students collaboration skills, inquiry,
and organization.
• AVID students at Richlands High School move from
THE AVID honors-level coursework into AP coursework by the
CONNECTION 11th and 12th grade year.
• High-yield AVID instructional strategies are used
throughout classes at RHS.
• In 2018, Richlands High School was one of two schools in
Onslow County Schools to be awarded a grant partnership
NATIONAL with the National Math and Science Initiative
MATH AND • This grant provided training and resources for teachers and
SCIENCE students to improve education in science, technology,
INITIATIVE engineering and math (STEM) courses.
GRANT • NMSI partners with the Department of Defense to reach
military-connected children.
• All courses in Math, Science, English, and Computer Science
were moved from semester-long to year-long.
• Teachers provided with all expenses-paid professional
development experiences that allowed them to learn and
network with teachers from across the country.
• Students provided with Saturday tutorial sessions with
national experts which included transportation for students.
NMSI • RHS was provided resources and equipment annually to
GRANT support STEM and English AP students.
• Teachers gained access to NMSI-led online communities with
RESOURCES peers across the country teaching the same subjects.
• Compensation for teachers and site administrators for
tutorial sessions.
• $100 awards to students and teachers for a qualifying score
on the AP tests in STEM or English subjects.
• Onslow County Schools provides:
• Support for the Saturday NMSI tutoring/study
sessions by providing transportation and school
hub sites.
DISTRICT • Funding opportunities for teachers to attend AP
Summer Institutes.
SUPPORT
• Support for the AVID program.
• The College Board provides:
• Instructional resources for teachers and students
• AP Classroom
• Pacing Guides
• Student Learning Videos
COLLEGE • Professional Development opportunities.
BOARD • AP Mentoring
SUPPORT
• Data sources for schools
• Logistical information for AP coordinators
• The North Carolina Advanced Placement
Partnership, NCDPI, and the General Assembly
provide:
• Professional development opportunities for
teachers.
• Scholarships for APSI teacher professional
development.
STATE • Teacher bonus structures.
SUPPORT • Awarding of credit in the UNC system for scores
3 or higher on AP tests.
• Funding of exam fees for students.
• NCVPS Advanced Placement courses.
WHERE ARE WE
HEADED?
• Students eligible for AP Capstone Diploma.
• New courses planned:
• AP Spanish Language and Culture (2021-22)
UPCOMING • AP Biology (2021-22)
• AP Human Geography (2022-23)
• Offering Pre-AP courses signals a school’s
commitment to preparing all students for success in
high school and beyond. Pre-AP courses deliver
grade-level appropriate instruction through focused
course frameworks, engaging instructional resources,
and learning checkpoints.
FOCUS ON • The Pre-AP Program is designed to give all students
PRE-AP the opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed in the
classroom and beyond.
• This is the final year of the NSMI grant for Richlands
High School.
• We must continue to:
• Hold extracurricular support and tutoring
sessions.
LIFE AFTER • Incentivize participation and achievement.
NMSI • Provide robust professional development for
teachers and administrators.
• Fund classroom supplies and materials to support
AP courses.
• Teaching positions at RHS have decreased due to
redistricting (Decreased ADM) and the opening of
an all-virtual school.
• Reduced positions means scheduling elective and
AP courses becomes more challenging.
• The availability of future AP and Pre-AP course
offerings will be directly dependent on teaching
positions.
• Higher number of identified at-risk students requires
OUR allocation of additional resources and manpower.
CHALLENGES
Number of classroom teachers Number of Students
1200 1125
80
71
70 1000
833
60
52 800
50
600
40
30 400
20
200
10
0
0 2015 2021
2015 2021
WHY DO WE DO
WHAT WE DO?
OUR TEACHERS
OUR STUDENTS
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