SPOKANE — Spokane Public Schools has moved to the front of the Advanced Placement class.
When the College Board chose 100 schools to offer “pre-AP” courses to all freshmen, Spokane was the only district in the nation to get all of its comprehensive high schools into the pilot program.
That means a lot, especially to the disadvantaged and to freshmen who aren’t sure whether they have what it takes to succeed in regular AP classes.
Success or failure will be up to the student, but the point is that each will have a chance to excel — and enjoy the experience.
That’s the same philosophy embraced by Ferris High School English teacher Ashley Jones: “All students should have access to the same type of rigor.”
Now a freshman at Ferris, Raegan Laycock believed she wasn’t being pushed hard enough in eighth grade.
“But here, instead of waiting for the class to be over, you don’t want it to end,” Laycock said.
The work was plenty rigorous Thursday morning, as Jones and colleague Katie O’Connor helped 20 students analyze the nuances of English composition.
“We’re building the structure now so they will be able to access more challenging curriculum, so that when they get into 10th or 11th grade, they can say that this isn’t brand-new to them,” said Jones, who was one of 40 Spokane teachers to take part in professional development at the Pre-AP Summer Institute.
However, the program is new to Spokane Public Schools, which was eager to enroll in the pilot program by meeting several requirements: align its instructions to course frameworks provided by the College Board, take part in professional training and offer the course with open access for all.
The reward is that all five of its comprehensive high schools will take part. All five offer pre-AP courses in biology and English, while Rogers and North Central also offer arts.
“It’s a tremendous honor,” said Adam Swinyard, the district’s chief academic officer.
