UA Little Rock Consultant Information and Course Descriptions for June 23-26, 2025

Jennifer Garner –   Lakeside High School, Hot Springs, AR

AP English Language and Composition – for Teachers New to AP

My name is Jennifer Garner, and I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas. I have taught at Lakeside High School for 32 years, where I have instructed students in AP Language & Composition, AP Seminar, AP Research, and a variety of English courses. In addition to teaching, I am a literacy specialist and instructional coach for grades 5-12 in my district. My College Board experience includes being an AP Reader, Table Leader, Consultant, and Mentor. I also work for the National Math and Science Initiative as a coach and content developer. While I am involved in several projects outside the classroom, I devote most of my time to working with students and teachers and sharing my enthusiasm for learning. My husband and I have two adult children and four spoiled cats.

Course Description

This workshop will address the breadth of the AP Language and Composition course and focus on developing critical skills, enduring understandings, classroom activities, formative assessment strategies, and unit planning to enhance students’ understanding of the rhetorical theory and practice that underlie the AP Language and Composition exam. The workshop will unpack the contents College Board’s Course and Exam Description (CED), look closely at analytic assessment (6 point rubric) through the lens of skill development and the relationship between effective planning and our students’ academic growth, as well as examining course structure, content, reading choices, equity, and the development of unit plans designed for each of our unique classrooms.

Beth Hall,  Beebe High School, Beebe, AR

AP English Language and Composition – Combined (New and Experienced Teachers)

Beth Hall earned her MFA in Creative Writing in 2014 and soon began her career as a high school English teacher in Beebe, Arkansas. She quickly developed a passion for teaching nonfiction and helping students hone their writing skills. Over the years, Hall has taught honors, AP, and concurrent credit English classes and also served as a high school soccer coach for seven years. In 2024, she was honored as the Beebe High School Teacher of the Year. Outside the classroom, in 2019, Hall launched a YouTube channel, Coach Hall Writes. Hall’s videos quickly gained notoriety among AP® Language and Composition teachers and students because of the videos’ conciseness and clarity. In 2020, the Coach Hall Writes YouTube Channel was listed as one of the top resources AP® Lang teachers felt was most helpful in preparing their students for the AP® Language and Composition exam. After serving as an AP® Lang reader for multiple years, Hall became a College Board consultant in 2023. In 2024, Hall co-authored the AMSCO Writing for the AP Exam: English Language and Composition textbook.

Course Description

This workshop is designed for both new and experienced AP Language and Composition teachers who want to deepen their knowledge of effective strategies and instructional methods to enhance student learning. Through interactive online sessions, participants will explore each core component of the AP English Language exam—including the multiple-choice section (both reading and writing questions), synthesis essays, rhetorical analysis essays, and argument essays—and discuss approaches to equip students with the skills needed for success on the exam.

Participants will:

● Explore the Course and Exam Description (CED) and AP Classroom

● Gain instructional strategies for teaching the enduring understandings of the course

● Engage in collaborative activities to exchange ideas and best practices with fellow educators

● Discuss the AP scoring process and review the latest AP Language exam essay prompts

By the end of the workshop, participants will leave with actionable strategies to improve student engagement, achievement, and overall success in the AP Language and Composition course.

Wendy Scruggs – Jack Britt High School,  Fayetteville, NC

AP Literature and Composition for teachers New to AP

Wendy Scruggs currently teaches for  Cumberland County Schools (NC) at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, NC–home of Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). She is National Board Certified in Secondary English (renewed in 2016), AIG endorsed, Online Teaching and Learning Certified, and College Board Audit approved to teach both AP English Language and AP English Literature, as well as the newer Pre-AP English program. She is  a current and experienced AP Exam Reader for English Literature, one of eight AP English Literature teachers to write and present AP Literature videos in AP Classroom, and one of two teachers to present AP Literature exam reviews for AP Daily Live for the College Board on YouTube during the spring reviews of 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. She has also served two terms on the North Carolina English Language Arts Consultative Committee for the state Department of Public Instruction.

She earned her BA in Political Science at East Carolina University and worked as an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor from 1990-1999, when she left journalism to become a teacher. She has taught secondary English since 1999 in North Carolina including English IV, English IV inclusion, English III Honors, English III, English III inclusion, English II, English II inclusion, English I Honors, English I, English I inclusion, Forensics (Speech & Debate) and Journalism I-IV Honors, and AP Language since 2008 and Literature since 2014. She has written the North Carolina English II End-of-Course Exams, English I NC Final Exam, English I benchmarks for Cumberland County Schools, CCS AP Language countywide syllabus, North Carolina Virtual Public Schools AP English Literature content and lessons, NCVPS AP English Language content and assignments, and written school-wide English III syllabi and pacing guides. She has also taught professional developments in Moore and Cumberland counties for reading across the curriculum, AP English Literature, AP English Language, Canvas, technology integration, and group work in a digital environment. She has served as an Academically and Intellectually Gifted Consultant, as well as a Beginning Teacher mentor.

In her free time, she enjoys SEC football, cooking, floating in the pool with a good book, and spending time with her husband, daughter and fur grandbaby.

Course Description

This course will provide participants with a deep dive into the Course and Exam Description and exam itself, course pacing, syllabus development/course audit (if needed), AP Classroom and AP Central resources, YouTube reviews from College Board, participating and resources in the AP Community, Equity and Access, Instructional Score Reports, essay scoring, writing strategies and best practices, reading strategies and best practices, handling the paper load, selecting resources, and using technology and AI for good in the AP Classroom. In addition, you will receive Google Drive access for resources, lessons, notes, etc.

What to bring:

Jacqueline Stallworth –   Washington Liberty High School, Washington, DC

AP English Literature and Composition -Combined (New and Experienced Teachers)

Jacqueline Stallworth is an Advanced Placement African American Studies and Literature consultant who also serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion coordinator in her school district. She helped to develop and pilot the achieving equity in AP professional development series and trained others to present the series to school districts. She scores the Advanced Placement Literature exam. She also consults with textbook companies to ensure diverse voices are heard and that lessons align with designated skills. She lives in Washington, DC and in her free time you can find her reading, talking about books, visiting museums, enjoying plays and cycling.

Course Description

This course is designed to maximize the learner experience, providing relevant AP content and pedagogy through meaningful engagement – all focused on best practices for preparing your AP students for success. It centers on the development of an AP English Literature course that is based on the analysis of a variety of forms of fiction, with a special focus on close-reading skills. The course will begin with an overview of the structure, content, and scoring of the AP English Literature and Composition exam and cover all of the aspects of an AP English Literature and Composition class expectations and exam. Teachers will score sample essays with an eye to understanding the moves that matter on timed writings. In addition, teachers will deconstruct one section of a multiple-choice exam to see the skills and habits of mind that are tested. Most of the class will be spent working through a series of skill-building activities that will prompt students to read, write, and think thoughtfully about texts that are complex and ambiguous. Participants will be able to develop and share practical teaching strategies, including approaches that support the equity agenda of the College Board. Teachers should be familiar with Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon  before the week starts; we will be working through the novel during the week.

Melissa Neal – Floyd Central High School, Floyd Knobs, IN

AP Calculus AB for teachers New to AP

Melissa Neal has taught high school mathematics for 30 years. Across her career, she has spent 11 of those years teaching AP Calculus AB and eight teaching AP Calculus BC. During her first year teaching AP Calculus AB, she nearly tripled her high school’s pass rates, and she has continued to produce pass rates well above the national average. She has contributed to her field beyond the classroom by serving as a Reader for AP Calculus AB and BC, presenting state and national conferences, leading AP Jumpstart and Bootcamp webinars for Marco Learning, contributing to the textbook revision process of an AP Calculus textbook via the AP Calculus Advisory Board at Cengage Learning, and working as an APSI Workshop Consultant through the College Board. While her interests related to math are broad, her most enjoyable classroom experiences have involved teaching Calculus. In recent years, her long-standing interest in seeing her own AP Calculus students succeed has grown into a newfound desire to contribute to the success of other AP Calculus teachers and their students. Throughout her years of teaching, she has  acquired and developed many innovative ways to facilitate understanding in the Calculus classroom, and she looks forward to sharing her strategies with other educators.

Melissa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education in Mathematics, a Master of Science degree in Secondary Education, and her Plus 30 credit hour certification in Mathematics and Computer Programming, all from Indiana University. She lives with her husband in Floyds Knobs, Indiana, and she has two adult children who live in the area. In her free time, Melissa enjoys attending rock concerts, traveling, and doing DIY projects.

Course Description

In this course, participants will take a tour through the Course and Exam Description (CED) and AP Classroom, as well as share ideas on ways to incorporate these resources into planning and teaching. We will discuss effective strategies of content practice, assessments, and grade configuration, as well as  content order and pacing schedules. We’ll also take a deep dive into three major topics throughout the week: Derivatives and their applications, Integration and its applications, and AP exam preparation. Participants will explore innovative ways to facilitate students’ understanding of Calculus instead of memorization of processes. By the end of the course, participants will have access to dozens of digital files, including pacing calendars, course organization tools, fun activities for students, worksheets, notes, and a plethora of AP exam preparation materials. Additionally, it is my goal that each participant completes this workshop rejuvenated, energetic, and confident in his/her ability to create ‘a perfect storm’ so-to-speak to propagate students’ love of Calculus and success in the course!

Thelvie Cullins, Jr. –  School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center in Dallas ISD

AP Calculus AB -Combined (New and Experienced Teachers) 

Thelvie Cullins, Jr. has a 20-year career as an award-winning Dallas ISD Math Educator, thriving to create a culture of caring in the classroom. His mission is to prepare young people to become responsible citizens of the global community and to enhance their leadership skills, moral values, and critical thinking in-and well beyond-the classroom.

He has experience teaching high school students all levels of math including AP Calculus AB and BC at the School for the Talented and Gifted at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center in Dallas ISD, presently ranked as the best high school in Texas and the sixth best high school in the nation.

At his core, Cullins loves God, his family, his friends, teaching, sports and traveling. He is a proud graduate of Florida A & M University, where he majored in Electrical Engineering. He also enjoys serving with organizations that promote graduation, college preparedness and access, including the College Board and the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI).

Course Description

This AP Summer Institute will prepare secondary mathematics teachers to more effectively teach AP Calculus AB. Throughout the course, several strategies will be presented and modeled for teachers to assist them, and their students achieve a high level of success on the AP Calculus Exam. We will collaborate, sharing pedagogical approaches as well as ideas pertaining to scope and sequence. Integrated into the course are best practices for teaching, using the Understanding by Design model which is a foundation of lesson planning for this AP course. Throughout the week, in both synchronous and asynchronous sessions, we will explore free resources and solve many problems, focusing on those students find most challenging. The 2023 and 2024 Free-Response questions and other sample AP multiple choice and free response questions are integrated into our daily sessions, and we will, also, practice scoring sample student responses, using them to determine how topics in the CED are assessed. Additionally, participants will receive and develop a library of files and digital resources that can be easily implemented in their classrooms. These files include guided notes, discovery activities, and formative assessments.  These takeaways will be presented via hands-on activities, presentations, and problem-solving. Teachers will also have an opportunity to explore the Course and Exam Description, AP Classroom, and their Instructional Planning Reports to help guide the delivery of their content. Upon completion of this workshop, participants should feel more confident and prepared as it relates to teaching AP Calculus AB.

Robert Topping – Golden Gate High School, Naples, FL

AP U.S. History Combined for Teachers New to AP

Robert Topping  At the end of the 2024-2025 school year, I will have completed 28 years of high school teaching, 27 of those years teaching AP U.S. History. I have been teaching at Golden Gate High School for the past 2 years after teaching 18 years at Palmetto Ridge High School in Collier County, Florida. I have also taught in both Martin and Lee counties in Florida. I have been an AP Consultant since 2016 and have led multiple day-long workshops on the new APUSH framework, rubrics, and exam.  I have also facilitated over 20 US History APSI workshops across the Southern Region. Along with teaching and leading workshops, I have been a reader for the AP U.S. history exam since 2003, piloted a field test for the exam redesign, the new syllabi requirements and I am a member of the Florida AP Advocates Program. I was the 2013-14 Florida Council for the Social Studies Teacher of the year and selected as the Louis H. Kuhn Teacher of the Year in 2020. I also helped write the curriculum maps and pacing guides for U.S. History in Collier County, Florida.

Course Description

This section of the UA Little Rock APSI is for AP US History teachers new to APUSH or with a limited experience.  In the 4 days, the focus will be helping your students demonstrate mastery of the skills and practices to earn a qualifying score on the AP Exam, using the content framework. We will work on developing and increasing the participants understanding of the course, skills, exam and applying classroom strategies for student success. Using the Course and Exam Description (CED), the focus will be on using the content to teach and practice the Reasoning Processes, Historical Thinking Skills, Learning Objectives, Key Concepts, and Thematic Focus. We will also go over each component of the exam.  This will include how students should frame their answers to demonstrate content knowledge using the Processes and Skills.  We will discuss how the exam is graded and ways of teaching the rubrics. The course will also focus on best practices and sharing ways the content, Learning Objectives, Processes, and Skills can be taught and used. We will also discuss the importance of equity, and access for student selection in an APUSH class.  This will be with a focus on planning and pacing of the course, completing the course audit, and use of other resources with an emphasis on using AP Classroom.

Bruce Smith – Rio Rancho High School, Albuquerque, NM

AP U.S. History -Combined (New and Experienced Teachers)

Bruce Smith -Teaching since 1989. Teaching APUSH, AP Gov/Politics, and AP Macro Econ since 2001. AP English Language from 2005 to 2009. College Board consultant since 2004. APUSH Reader since 2006 and Table Leader since 2021.

Bachelors in History, Michigan State University (1988). Masters in Secondary Education, University of New Mexico (1995), Masters in English, Middlebury College (2000), Masters in Liberal Arts, St. John’s College (2009).

Peace Corps volunteer, Papua New Guinea (1988-1990). James Madison Memorial Fellowship recipient (2005). Wrote APUSH test questions for IScore5,
an online test prep app. Consultant for NMSI– working with NYC APUSH teachers (2019-2020).

I enjoy cycling (commute to school when the weather allows), reading, exercising, and hanging out with nature as much as possible.

Course Description

We will use the College Board Course and Exam Description Book to cover the essentials of this course

In addition, participants will:

1. Examine ways to write the DBQ, LEQ and SAQ
2. Use the Concept Outline to plan your APUSH course.
3. Sentence writing using HIPP.
4. Read and score essays from the current national exam.
5. Examine the APUSH Reasoning Processes (The Three C’s).
6. Examine the Eight Themes
7. Discuss the Concept Outline with an emphasis on the Historical Development sections.
8. Discuss the APUSH Rubrics for the SAQ, LEQ, and DBQ.
9. Design an APUSH course that fits your demographics and challenges your students throughout the school year.
10. Share a lesson or project with our group. Possible a bell ringer or mini lesson too.
11. Other items will be covered such as: pacing, equity, and ways to review.
12. Encourage participants to share out throughout the APSI on ways you teach APUSH.

Angela Williams-Pitkonen – Dunwoody High School, Dunwoody, GA

AP World History, Modern – Combined (New and Experienced Teachers)

I am Angela Williams-Pitkonen, and I am currently in my 26th year as an educator, with a M.Ed. Teacher Leadership. I am a reader for the AP World history Modern exam, and I participated in the College Board Project Based Learning (PBL) pilot. As an APSI for World History Modern it is my goal to deliver workshops with clarity and enthusiasm to support participants in mastering the workshop learning objectives by delivering content, modeling instructional approaches, and sharing best practices. We will take a deep dive into the AP Classroom, explore the resources and if necessary, submit a course syllabus. As an AP teacher I have had much success teaching my students how to write the Document based question (DBQ) and apply the skills they learned to the writing process. In my sessions, we will review documents, annotate, group, and use the documents to substantiate claims, as well as write HIPP analysis, contextualization and evidence beyond the document.  The feedback that I have received from past participants lists the DBQ modeling as most beneficial in building confidence to teach this course. My workshops foster a collaborative environment in which professional dialogue is encouraged. You will leave my APSI feeling confident in teaching the skills your students need to be successful on not only the AP exam, but all the courses that they find challenging. As most teachers of history are or will become masters of the content, teaching DBQ ‘s takes practice. It would be my pleasure to share what I have learned with you.

Course Description

Day 1

• Unpack the CED: Themes, HRP, HTS, Unit breakdowns for AP exams, Pacing, Instructional Activities, Learning objectives, Historical Developments, Illustrative examples.
• Module 2 video: Navigating AP classroom.
• Effective use of Data.
• Strategies and Pedagogy.
• Sample Lesson: Enlightenment to Revolution.
• DBQ practice: Doc. and image analysis.
• Key topics Units 1-2.

Day 2

• Complete the course audit (share syllabus).
• Broadening Access to AP
• Create lesson plans.
• DBQ: Doc. and image analysis.
• DBQ: HIPP.
• Review/explore FREE resources.
• Review unit study guides 1-9 (units are combined).
• Strategies and Pedagogy: AP Daily video writing and note-taking.
• Instructional Planning time.

Day 3

• Assess and Reflect 2023 exam.
• Strategies for writing SAQ.
• Strategies for writing LEQ.
• DBQ/LEQ rubric skills covered.
• Instructional Planning: Units and pacing.
• Strategies and Pedagogy

Day 4

• What do you still need?
• Asynchronous: Practice scoring (SAQ, LEQ, DBQ).
• Strategies and Pedagogy: Bundle the units to cover more content
• Reflections.
• Survey

Ruthie Walls – Central High School, Little Rock, AR

AP African American Studies – Combined.

Ruthie Walls wears many hats in her home state of Arkansas. She has been an educator for twenty-five years. She is currently a history teacher at the Little Rock’s historic Central High School. She has served as a Teach Plus Arkansas Policy Fellow and a University of Arkansas Downtown History Fellow. In her community, she is an advocate, volunteer, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., educator, and administrator. But Ruthie Walls is also a fighter, and has made fighting for Advanced Placement African American Studies and her students a part of her mission.

Ruthie serves as a Consultant and a Table Leader for Advanced Placement African American Studies. She has received many awards that speak to her exceptional professionalism. Most recently, the 2024 Juneteenth Teacher of the Year, the Little Rock School District High School Teacher of the Year and she was recognized by the College Board Forum who distinguished her as the 2023 Exceptional Service to Education Awardee. She received the prestigious Bessie B. Moore Award for Excellence in Teaching Economics, and was one of only seven educators in the state of to receive this distinction.

Impressively, Arkansas Senator Clark Tucker also led a successful effort to create a scholarship at the Arkansas Community Foundation in Ruthie’s honor to award to a Little Rock Central High School student who excels in the AP African-American Studies course. Ruthie resides with her husband Sean and her two children.

Course Description 

AP African American Studies is an interdisciplinary course that examines the diversity of African American experiences through direct encounters with authentic and varied sources. Students explore key topics that extend from early African kingdoms to the ongoing challenges and achievements of the contemporary moment. Given the interdisciplinary character of African American studies, students in the course will develop skills across multiple fields, with an emphasis on developing historical, literacy, visual, and data analysis skills. This course foregrounds a study of the diversity of Black communities in the United States within the broader context of Africa and the African diaspora.

Kurt Smart – Feather River College,  Quincy, CA

AP Biology for teachers New to AP

Kurt Smart taught AP Biology and a range of math and science classes for 11 years in both public schools in Northern California and abroad in international schools in Taiwan. He has a BS in Microbiology with a minor in Chemistry from California State University, Chico, a MS in Biology from the University of Mississippi, and a MEd from The College of New Jersey. He has been an AP Biology Reader for the past 5 years and is an AP Biology Workshop Consultant, as well as recently being trained as an AP Course Skills Consultant. Kurt is currently a STEM Instructor at Feather River College in Quincy, CA and enjoys spending his time outside of the classroom with his wife, a fellow AP Math teacher, and two children, enjoying the great outdoors of the Sierras

Course Description

During this AP Biology APSI, you’ll explore the course framework, the exam, and the new AP resources that will help you plan and focus instruction—and give you feedback throughout the year on the areas where individual students need additional focus. You’ll also learn about completing the digital activation process at the start of the school year that will give you immediate access to the new resources and will help ensure that your students can register for AP Exams by the new fall deadlines. By attending this APSI, you’ll gain deeper insight into the following key takeaways, among several others: Understand the Course; Plan the Course; Teach the Course; Assess Student Progress; and Engage as a Member of the AP Community. In addition, specific attention will be paid to the following AP Classroom resources: unit guides, personal progress checks, AP teacher community, and the AP question bank.

Chris Manor –  Independence High School, Thompson’s Station, TN

AP Chemistry for Teachers New to AP

Chris Manor has taught Chemistry in Thompson’s Station, TN (30 miles south of Nashville) since 2011 and has been teaching AP® Chemistry for over 20 years. He has a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.A. in Secondary Education from Ball State University. In addition to AP Chemistry, he also teaches Honors Chemistry and Honors Organic Chemistry. Chris has been an AP® Chemistry Exam reader since 2020, contributed to AP® Daily Videos as a member of the AP® Chemistry team, and served as an AP® Chemistry consultant for the College Board since 2022. He has led APSI’s in Alabama, Mississippi, and Online. Teaching Chemistry is Chris’s passion. He looks forward to engaging his students with Chemistry and inspiring future STEM majors. Students leave Chris’s AP® Chemistry class prepared to be successful on the AP® Chemistry Exam and ready to take on the challenge of other Math and Science courses at the college level

Course Description

During the APSI, participants will explore the AP® Chemistry Course & Exam Description (CED), AP® Chemistry Exam, and AP® Classroom paying particular attention to recent updates to the CED and the AP® Chemistry Exam. Participants will develop a pacing guide that will be specific to their school calendar. Focus will be placed on pacing the course and assessing student work to maximize student success on the AP® Chemistry Exam. Participants will also learn how to score exams like an AP® Reader and use data to identify student strengths and weaknesses.