Teacher Training with AP Summer Institute

A student instructing other students during class

The Advanced Placement Summer Institute is an opportunity for high school teachers who have an enthusiasm for teaching and a desire to learn more about their content areas, pedagogy, and methodology to become certified to teach Advanced Placement (AP) credit courses. During the summer, the office of Professional Education at UNC Asheville will host high school teachers online who have an enthusiasm for teaching and a desire to learn more about their content areas, pedagogy, and methodology while becoming certified to teach Advanced Placement credit courses.

Week 1 (online): Monday, June 24, 2024 – Thursday, June 27, 2024

  • English Language and Composition
  • World History: Modern

Week 2 (in-person): Monday, July 15, 2024 – Thursday, July 18, 2024

  • Computer Science Principles
  • Environmental Science

Week 3 (online): Monday, July 22, 2024 – Thursday, July 25, 2024

  • Chemistry
  • US History
  • Biology

The registration fee for the Online AP Summer Institute is $695. This includes College Board endorsed instruction materials. Acceptable forms of payment include VISA, MasterCard, check or money order, school credit card, and school purchase order. If your school will be paying for your certification, we are happy to work with you to make the process as easy as possible. We are accustomed to working with schools that have a wide variety of standards and procedures and we are willing to supply whatever paperwork you need. We will also work with teachers and hold your space in the class while the payment details are worked out. Registration fees are not refundable once a participant has registered. Schools may also substitute a new participant if the original participant chooses to cancel. Teachers will receive 3 CEUs upon successful completion of the institute. A certificate for these credits will be provided to teachers who successfully complete the institute.

Questions? Email Dean of Special Programs Lei Han at lhan@unca.edu.

AP Institute Consultants

Paula Phillips has taught AP Biology and related biological and chemical sciences in both public and independent schools for over twenty five years. She has been involved with the AP Reading to score the free response questions from the AP Biology Exam since 1994, serving as reader, table leader, and most recently as the Assistant Chief Reader. She conducts both one-day workshops and week-long summer institutes for the College Board at many universities across the nation. She has written and edited multiple choice questions for the AP Biology Exam and the SAT biology specific exam. She has written and edited teacher guides for AP Biology textbooks, and she has worked with Khan Academy to produce their AP Biology online course work. During her teaching career, she has been awarded scholarships to study biotechnology at Duke University, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, and Cornell University. She has developed and taught summer biotechnology programs at Pfeiffer University, and she has gained experience working in a research lab in order to translate that skill into lessons for her students. She is a graduate of North Carolina State University and the University of Central Florida, and she currently resides in Ithaca, New York with her two children, Levi and Olivia.

Todd Abronowitz is co-author of Fast Track to a 5: Preparing for the AP Chemistry Exam and co-author of the textbook Chemistry: An Atoms-Focused Approach and currently teaches all levels of chemistry at Parish Episcopal School in Dallas. Previously, he was the lead AP Chemistry teacher for Dallas ISD. Prior to this, he taught at John Paul II High School in Plano (and served as science department chair) for five years. He has also taught at Creekview High School, in the Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD for 8 years, and South Garland High School (Garland ISD) for six years. He has served as the lead chemistry teacher at Creekview High School. Since starting his teaching career in 1990, he has taught regular chemistry, honors chemistry, Pre-AP Chemistry and Advanced Placement Chemistry. He has started three AP chemistry programs at South Garland HS, Creekview HS, and most recently at John Paul II HS. He is involved with several professional organizations: Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT), Associated Chemistry Teachers of Texas (ACT2), and the American Chemical Society. He has presented workshops at several STAT Conferences for the Advancement of Science Teaching and Southwest Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society. He has presented at two-day conferences and one-day conferences for the College Board and has been the presenter for APSI in Texas and Arkansas. He served as a State Chemistry Textbook Review member for Texas in 2001. He was co- founder of a Traveling Science Show that performed shows across the DFW Metroplex. He wrote his own laboratory manual and study materials for use in his AP chemistry class. Mr. Abronowitz has received numerous awards including NMSI All-American Teacher of the Year 2012, Shultz Award for outstanding high school chemistry teacher from the DFW section of the ACS, Radio Shack National Teacher Award, Associated Chemistry Teachers of Texas Teacher of the Year in 2000, and Wal-Mart Teacher of the Year 1996.

Lynne Norris is currently the Director at the Center for Information Technology (CIT) at Deep Run High in Glen Allen, Virginia. In this specialty program Mrs. Norris leads innovative courses in technology that are rigorous, encourage higher-level thinking and provide practical applications to her students. Since joining the CIT, Mrs. Norris has revamped the curriculum to include game design, network security, enterprise architecture and application development. In addition to teaching, she sponsors five CyberPatriot teams, the Girls of CIT organization, her school’s Computer Club which has over 100 members and the Computer Science Honor Society. Mrs. Norris is passionate about providing her students with the best software tools and education possible to help them succeed now and in the future. She was an official College Board AP Computer Science Principles Pilot teacher for three years. She is currently a consultant for the College Board for Computer Science Principles and served as a reader for the CS Principles pre-reading in June of 2016 and the mini Explore reading in October 2016. Mrs. Norris was a table leader at the 2017 – 2019 AP Reading for CS Principles. Her awards include the Educator Award from the National Center for Women in Information Technology, Top Henrico Teachers Award, and the Innovation in Education Award from the Greater Richmond Technology Council. Mrs. Norris spent over twenty years in corporate America before following her lifelong dream of becoming a teacher.

Randy Gingrich has completed 31 years of public school teaching of English and gifted courses. He has primarily taught Advanced Placement Language and Composition, American Literature Honors, and 9th/10th grade gifted. Being very interested in curriculum development, he has presented numerous conference workshops in gifted and English Education, and been a reader at the AP Language and Composition program for the past 10 years. His dissertation for his doctorate involved the development of pedagogical and practical knowledge in novice English education students. His master’s thesis was on the use of orality to facilitate composition and literature skills in urban students.

Scottie Smith is an Upper School Science Teacher at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park, Florida.  Scottie received her BS in Microbiology from Auburn University and her PhD. in Microbiology from Texas A&M University.  She was an adjunct professor at the University of Tampa teaching Environmental Science for several years.  She is currently an adjunct professor at Valencia College.  She has been teaching AP ES since 1998 and has been an AP Environmental Science Reader since 1999.  She served as a Table Leader at the Reading from 2003 – 2008, 2014 – 2016, and 2020.  She was a question leader in 2021 and has been an Early Table Leader since 2022.  She has been a College Board Consultant since 2001, presenting workshops and weeklong institutes.  She is a College Board Endorsed Consultant for AP Environmental Science and Strategies for Success in AP Sciences.  She published the AP Achiever Environmental Science Exam Preparation by McGraw Hill to allow students to best prepare for the AP Environmental Science examination and is the AP Contributor to the textbook Environmental Science:  A Global Concern. 14th Ed.  2017  McGraw Hill.  She is the Editor of the AP Environmental Science Special Focus:  Ecology, published in the fall of 2008.  Scottie has spent over twenty-five years preparing students for the Envirothon, North America’s largest environmental competition.  

Eric Leiden has been teaching High School Social Studies since 1997 in the state of Georgia and at Evans High School since 2000. He currently teaches AP (Advanced Placement) US History, AP Seminar, and US History through Film. He is the department chair and has served as the instructional coach for the Social Studies Department at Evans High. He has a bachelor’s degree in history from Furman University and a master’s degree in history from Georgia Southern University. He has served as a reader, a table leader, and an early table leader for the AP US History exam for seventeen years. Mr. Leiden has led workshops for educators instructing students in writing and analytical skills for AP US History. Mr. Leiden facilitated workshops online for the Georgia Department of Education to support AP US History teachers in the state during the Pandemic. Mr. Leiden has coached Baseball, Girls Softball and Flag Football at Evans High School outside Augusta, Georgia. In his spare time, Eric enjoys traveling with his wife, spending time at the lake and training their two Labrador retrievers.

Aime La Porte-Lewis attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, GA and graduated with a degree in History and French Literature. She also has an M.Ed. in curriculum, instruction, and assessment. She has taught since 2004 in both public and private schools, and currently teaches at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta, GA. Over the course of her career thus far, Amie has taught World History, AP World History, Economics, AP Microeconomics, and various levels of French Language, including AP.  She currently teaches AP World History and AP Microeconomics, in addition to being the 10th grade dean of students and coaching cross-country, cheerleading and girls lacrosse at Holy Innocents’. Amie has been a reader for AP World History since 2008, and a table leader since 2015. Amie has contributed to AP Insight World History materials and has presented professional development for AP Insight both online and in day workshops. Additionally, she has lead AP Summer Institutes and one-day workshops for AP World History as an endorsed consultant for the College Board.  Recently, Amie was selected to serve on the AP World History Development Committee and began her service in the fall of 2017.

Test Proctoring

someone sitting at a laptop with study materials around them

Test Proctoring services are currently on hold. Contact the Academic Success Center at asc@unca.edu for more information.

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