More than 80 high school teachers from Mississippi and surrounding states will gather at Millsaps next week for the 2003 Advanced Placement Institute. The institute, to be held July 13-18, is the only training for high school AP teachers offered in Mississippi.

The program is geared specifically towards new teachers of advanced placement courses, though one class will be offered for experienced AP teachers. During the week-long institute, AP instructors approved by the College Board Office in Atlanta will lead intensive workshops on teaching college-level biology, calculus, U.S. history and English composition and literature. Each group will review sample AP tests, textbooks, handouts and other resource materials and then develop a sample course curriculum.

"The institute instructors are master teachers," said Suzi Broderick, who works with the Learning Disability Resource Program at St. Joseph Catholic School. "I found that I could apply the methods and information I learned from them to my teaching throughout the year. I enjoyed the first institute I attended so much, and I learned so much, that I came back again for instruction in different topics and with different teachers. It's just fun to learn."

The Millsaps Advanced Placement Institute draws teachers from public, private and parochial schools in Mississippi and surrounding states. The program, which has been endorsed by The College Board Advanced Placement Program, is supported in part by a grant from the Phil Hardin Foundation. Teachers who participate in all sessions receive 3.0 continuing education credits, and there are scholarships available for needy teachers from public high schools.

"The Advanced Placement Institute provides excellent training for current and future AP teachers in Mississippi," says Dr. Nola Gibson, director of the institute. "Teachers who attend the program consistently provide good evaluations of the sessions, and many tell us it's the best post-graduate training they've experienced. In addition, the program gives new AP teachers invaluable networking opportunities, allowing them to establish a support group of colleagues who can advise them long after the institute is over."

For more information, please contact Dr. Nola Gibson at (601) 974-1130 or click here.