From late August through early June, St. Johnsbury Academy is home to 1,000 boarding and day high school students. But for the month of July every year, a different student group takes over the school: teachers learning from other teachers at the AP Summer Institute.

Started in 1986, the Academy holds four weeks of programs for teachers to learn how to teach the highly accelerated Advanced Placement curriculum sanctioned by the College Board. This year, over 400 teachers will attend during the month, taking courses in such topics as Biology, US Government, French, Computer Science, and Studio Art, to name just a few. Twenty-six instructors, who are respected as some of the premier teachers in the country, comprise the AP Institute’s faculty this summer. Eleven or twelve courses are taught each week.

Howard Crawford is the Director of St. Johnsbury Academy’s AP Summer Institute. “The AP Institute demonstrates and strengthens St. Johnsbury Academy’s commitment to the AP program,” says Crawford. “At the Academy, we believe that the Advanced Placement curriculum sets a high standard for academic excellence.”

Crawford notes that running a successful AP Institute at the Academy raises St. Johnsbury Academy’s profile among schools in New England. “Through the AP Institute, our name is known by teachers all over the country and around the world,” says Crawford. “In fact, a teacher who attended our AP Institute a few years ago is now moving to St. Johnsbury, because she wants her own children to attend St. Johnsbury Academy for high school.”

Crawford is one of ten AP Institute Directors who consults with the College Board about the program. In 24 years of running an AP Institute, St. Johnsbury Academy’s program has become known for its high quality of instruction, along with a full roster of great activities planned for the attendees each week. But Crawford says that St. Johnsbury Academy’s AP Institute is really known for the food!  “Sodexho creates the most fabulous menus during the program,” says Crawford. “It’s just one more reason teachers from all over the country and the world attend our AP Summer Institute.”
 

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