As the student body continues to grow, the amount of AP courses will also expand. This year, two new AP classes were added as an option for students: Government and European History. The teacher of AP Euro, Hailey Bachura, has never taught an AP course before; this is their first year.
“My biggest takeaway so far is that I’ve really enjoyed it. I finally get to have a class where kids are choosing to sign up for something and it’s not just a requirement. I enjoy getting to nerd out with the kids,” Bachura said. “We’re able to cover a lot more ground in a lot less time.”
Part of the reason that the class moves at such a fast pace is because students are expected to complete outside reading from a textbook, which separates it from a gen-ed course, where learning happens almost exclusively inside the classroom.
“I get to teach kids skills that they’re going to take on for the rest of their life, like time management and task prioritization,” Bachura said.
These things didn’t come immediately to Bachura either, though. They had to receive training from College Board certified instructors at a four-day training session in Minneapolis, Minn.
“My instructor had been teaching AP Euro for 20 years, so he was really knowledgeable. The expectation was that you knew the content already,” Bachura said. “He walked us through how to break down multiple choice questions and how to teach and score SAQs, LEQs, and DBQs. It was a lot of skill-based instruction to help the students out.”
Even though it may not be the most important aspect, content still needs to be memorized. Bachura’s favorite units are spread out throughout the year, which helps them not feel burnt out or bored.
“I love the Renaissance and Reformation, so the first two units are really fun for me to start out with,” Bachura said. “We’ll talk about the French Revolution in unit five, which is also one of my favorite things to teach.”
When a teacher is clearly interested in the topics they teach, it can boost their enrollment. Higher enrollment in AP classes could also show the administration that the student body is interested in a wider selection of high-level courses. Numbers have significantly increased in recent years, and Bachura hopes this trend continues.
“We’ve got to have something that pulls kids to Spring Hill,” Bachura said. “Being able to provide more opportunities for kids for post-high school success would be great.”
