Five school districts and one additional school are now offering Virtual Advanced Placement (VAP) courses to students thanks to a 10-month grant awarded to Questar III BOCES in August under New York State’s virtual learning initiative, the Virtual Advanced Placement (VAP) Program, Round II.
The Questar III-led consortium currently provides VAP courses to five participating school districts: Catskill CSD, Greenville CSD, Taconic Hills CSD, Germantown CSD and Rensselaer CSD. The consortium also includes Tech Valley High School®.
Students can earn college credit upon successful completion of the VAP course and exam. Students meet once a week after school for a video conference with their teacher and the students taking the same course at other participating schools. The vast majority of the work is done online, on their own time, which has eliminated the scheduling conflict many students face when considering regular AP courses.
According to Rensselaer CSD Superintendent Sally Shields, these courses provide additional college-level experience for students.
“So many colleges offer online courses now and these classes gives students that experience,” said Shields. “The classes discipline them in time management and gets them in a college frame of mind.”
The grant is intended to allow more low-income students to prepare for college and careers. In many districts, declining enrollment or lack of resources has forced districts to cut their AP programs.
Prior to the grant, Rensselaer CSD did not offer AP classes at all. Shields said the district does not currently have teachers who are certified to teach AP classes. By offering VAP courses, the district can offer students the opportunity to take classes they previously couldn’t, while saving the district from having to certify an existing teacher or hire a new one.
Students have the opportunity to take the following AP courses: Psychology; Government and Politics; English Literature; and US History.
The grant includes funding to train teachers in compliance with the Common Core Learning Standards and best practices in technology and education from Questar III’s Model Schools. It is also used for the purchase of needed technology such as laptops for certain classes.
