Three Edmond Memorial teachers are part of a project to develop online Advanced Placement (AP) courses, which are to be made available to students statewide.
Christine Custred, T.J. Dortch and Kevin McDonald are part of a group of seven Oklahoma educators working to develop these courses through the Oklahoma Supplemental Online Course Program (OSOCP). McDonald is developing an AP language and composition course, Dortch is working on an AP chemistry course, and Custred is working alongside Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters on AP history.
The other courses under development are AP computer science principles and AP statistics.
Walters said ensuring students statewide have access to AP courses is important.
“I want every student in the state to have access to a high-quality education,” Walters said. “I think it’s very important that we continue to ask ourselves the question, ‘Is every student in the state having the same type of access to our education system?’ So, I think this is one step in that direction.”
Oklahoma House Bill 3400 requires all public high schools offer a minimum of four AP courses beginning in the 2024-25 school year. However, finding certified AP teachers is not easy for many school districts.
Custred said these courses can be used by virtual learning students or by schools who do not have the capacity to offer AP courses.
“Some rural schools might have some difficulty with it,” Custred said. “Not a lot of students enrolling. The state department has tapped advanced placement teachers from Oklahoma… to develop courses to be delivered virtually, but as well as having teacher contact to work with them individually throughout the year.”
Students across Oklahoma have experienced virtual learning over the past year due to the pandemic, though that practice has not been popular with some parents. An important distinction of these online courses is, for many students, these AP courses would still be taught in a physical classroom at school.
At many schools, students who enroll would still have a dedicated class period and classroom. Some schools may have a teacher who can take the curriculum and teach it in person. Others can simply provide a computer lab for students to take the course online. In cases where a student can not fit the course into a tradition class schedule, students may also be able to take it virtually on their own time.
Walters said these courses are simply another option given to students and parents.
“I want them to have as many options as possible,” Walters said. “I think that virtual learning works really well for some students. There’s some students that like the personalized nature of it. They like the flexibility of it. Each student’s unique. I think the parents need to take that into account on what is the best need for their student… It’s just another option that’s available for them.”
Walters said other states have turned to vendors for course content, but Oklahoma did not want to go that route. Custred said she thinks it is important to have these courses developed by Oklahoma teachers for Oklahoma students.
“I think having a connection with an Oklahoma teacher and the resources that the teacher may have is really important,” Custred said. “I feel it would give the Oklahoma student a connection to an Oklahoma teacher where they don’t feel that it is virtual or that they are just a number, that they are actually a student in an Oklahoma classroom.”
The courses are expected to be made available statewide for the 2021-22 school year.