Spotlight on Increased Academic Rigor, Additional Academic Time
Polytech High School Before-School AP Literature Class
At Polytech Career Technical High School in Woodside, Delaware, 40 students are enrolled in a before-school AP English Literature class. Students learn the language of literary analysis and criticism through methods such as oral and silent reading, discussion, and interpretive group exercises. Now in its fourth year, the class attracts students from a variety of career-technical areas, including computer engineering, criminal justice, child development and medical assisting.
How does it work?
- The course meets two mornings a week before school, beginning at 7:30 am, while other students eat breakfast and socialize. Students earn a quarter credit on their transcripts, and have the option to take the AP test and earn college credit.
- Taught by an English teacher and the assistant superintendent, the course engages students in works from the sixteenth century to the present. Students focus on critical analysis of literature, which includes the study of expository, analytical and persuasive essays. The teachers find creative methods to bring the subject matter to life. For example, students celebrate Langston Hughes’ poetry during Black History Month and sample soda bread as they study Irish poets on St. Patrick’s Day. After studying Edgar Allan Poe in January, students travel to Baltimore for his birthday celebration.
What are the results?
- Over 40 students in grades 9-12 took the class in 2006-07. Although a number of competing activities such as sports and vocational competitions periodically interrupt the before-school time, attendance rate is over 90 percent. And although it is not mandatory, 100% of participating seniors in the program have opted to take the AP test in English Literature. In 2003-04, two-thirds of the participants earned a 3 or 4 on the AP test and were granted college credit.
- Teachers at the school remark that the English Literature students consistently demonstrate greater interpretive and analytic skills than their classmates not in the program. Seventy percent of the students say that giving up social time in the morning is important to future learning, and most do not feel it is a sacrifice. Participants say the class has helped them understand the deeper meaning of literature (50 percent), relate literature to the world (21 percent) and understand the author’s intent (29 percent).
How does Vision 2015 address additional time and increased rigor?
Vision 2015 recommends:
- Meeting the diverse interests and needs of Delaware's students, especially at the high school level, where lack of engagement is a major contributor to the dropout crisis
- Increasing instructional options to allow parents and students to choose among many unique learning programs
- Increasing academic time to allow for a diverse range of programs to meet individual student needs
- Offering opportunities to earn college credit in high school
- Promoting innovation in schools to best meet students’ needs
Find out more: Read the Vision 2015 plan to provide world-class education to all Delaware students.
Where can I learn more?
Polytech High School Course Catalog
