AP-TIP IN Announces 3 Content Directors
Three experienced educators have been named to help implement the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program in Indiana (AP-TIP IN), collaborating with high schools in an initiative to boost students’ college readiness in science, math, and English.
AP-TIP IN, a partnership with National Math and Science and administered by the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives, announced the following appointments.
- Dorothy Henley as English Content Director
- Amy Keller as Science Content Director
- Bryan Passwater as Math Content Director
These three subject-area directors will work closely with the leadership and faculty of the nine public secondary schools around the state participating in AP-TIP IN during this 2012-2013 academic year, the first year of the initiative.
Their shared goal will be to expand the expert teaching of College Board Advanced Placement ® (AP) courses in science, math, and English so that significantly more Indiana high school students are better prepared for college, citizenship, and careers in the 21st century workforce.
Solid preparation in a growing number of these college-level courses, accomplished through focused training for teachers and more time-on-task for students , is a goal set by Dr. Tony Bennett, Indiana’s State Superintendent of Public Education. It is also the mission of National Math and Science (NMS), which awarded a $7 million grant to AP-TIP IN in order to implement these strategies and provide an incentive plan to participating teachers and students over a five-year period. NMS supports similar programs in seven other states.
The nine Indiana schools, located in the northern, central, and southern parts of the state, constitute the first of three cohorts that will participate during the grant period. Over the grant’s five year period, a total of 33 secondary schools have been selected to participate. They will implement program guidelines with the newly named content directors and more broadly with AP-TIP IN, for whom Karen Morris of Notre Dame’s Institute for Educational Initiatives is the program director.
“These three content directors bring excellent credentials in Advanced Placement ® teaching and education leadership to their new roles, and they will bring their energy and insights to schools around the state,” said Morris. “The educators with whom they collaborate will find that their passion for excellence in teaching and learning is a good fit with the professionalism already in place in these communities.”
Dorothy “Dottie” Henley, who lives in Lafayette, IN, graduated from Anderson College with a degree in French and completed English certification at Indiana University. She has taught English at Rossville Middle/High School in Rossville, IN, since 1999, including AP ® Language and Literature courses. She has chaired the school’s English department. In 2011, she was honored by the Indiana Department of Education for exemplary AP scores, exceeding the state’s goal that 25% of graduates receive a passing score on at least one AP exam.
Amy Keller, who lives in Plainfield, IN, graduated from Indiana State University with a degree in Biology and Chemistry and a 7-12 teaching license for life science, physical science, and biology. She taught at Avon High School from 1999 to 2012 and chaired the science department there for seven years. She has taught AP ® Biology and AP ® Environmental Science, among many other courses, and she has been honored for her integration of technology in the classroom. Amy holds a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Ball State University.
Bryan Passwater, who lives in Carmel, IN, graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Mathematics and a 5-12 teaching license for math. He has taught a range of courses, including AP ® Calculus AB and Calculus BC, as well as AP ® Statistics, in the Lebanon Community School Corporation since 2006. He was awarded an ExtraordinAIRy Teacher Award from Williams Cooling and Air in 2011. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology awarded him the Samuel F. Hulbert Outstanding Teacher Award for 2011-2012.
More information about the AP-TIP IN program, including the 33 selected schools and specifics about training and incentives, can be found at the Institute for Educational Initiatives website.