The College Board-endorsed AP Summer Institutes provide teachers with in-depth training in AP courses and teaching strategies. Participants engage in at least 30 hours of pedagogical and content rich training led by College Board-endorsed consultants and receive printed materials, including course outlines ; content -related handouts; and student samples, scoring guidelines, and commentary for the most recent AP Exam free-response questions.
The Silver State AP* Summer Institute is offering the following AP sessions. Please note some AP sessions are split by participant's years of teaching the specified AP subject; this may be different than years of experience teaching. Please register according to the following requirements:
New is designed specifically for teachers with 0-3 years of experience teaching the specified AP subject.
Experienced requires the participants have taught the specified AP subject for a minimum of 3 years.
Please understand that years teaching AP may be different than total years of teaching experience.
Instructor: Jacqueline Rackard
Syllabus: English Language & Composition-New
Jackie Rackard currently teaches English in the South Florida area. She has served in many College Board leadership roles including College Board consultant, Assistant Chief Reader (2020-present) for the AP Reading/Scoring, AP English Language Exam item writer and chair of the AP English Language Course and Development Committee. She has taught secondary education for over 30 years, with a variety of experience in urban and suburban student populations and diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. During her time off, Jackie enjoys traveling, reading and spending time with her family.
Instructor: Rebecca Mcfarlan
Rebecca McFarlan is a National Board Certified teacher who has taught English on both high school and college levels for 39 years. She has 35 years of experience teaching both the AP English Literature and the AP English Language courses. For the past 20 years she has been a reader, and more recently a table leader, for the AP English Literature Exam. In 2021-22 she was a question leader. She has taught in both urban and suburban districts in the Cincinnati and Northern KY. At Indian Hill High School in Cincinnati Rebecca served as Instructional Leader for grades 9-12 and the English Language Arts Program Leader for Kindergarten -grade 12. She is a College Board Consultant for AP English Literature, AP English Language, and the AP Research.
Over the past 30 years she has facilitated workshops both nationally and internationally. Rebecca has conducted AP and PreAP workshops in China since 2012 focusing on English curriculum for Chinese students. For the past nine years she has served as a coach and mentor to teachers and other College Board consultants. In 2011 she became a College Board consultant trained to work as an English coach with districts on a sustained basis. She served on the College Board’s Instructional Development Committee to help develop instructional materials for teachers of AP Literature. Rebecca co-authored the article “Bridging the Grammar Gap: An Interdisciplinary Approach” which appeared in The English Journal in January 2003. In 2004 she received the Martha Holden Jennings Master Teacher award. She developed three online workshops for AP Central, contributed to the AP Literature Mentor materials, and worked on the development of several PreAP workshops. She co-authored Perfection Learning Company’s AP Literature and Composition.
Instructor: Melissa Smith
Syllabus: English Literature & Composition-New
Melissa Alter Smith is a College Board APⓇ Consultant and a National Board Certified high school English teacher in Charlotte, NC. She is the founder of #TeachLivingPoets and co-author of The Norton Guide to AP Literature: Writing & Skills (W.W. Norton, 2022) and Teach Living Poets (NCTE, 2021). She is featured on LitHub.com, in The New York Times, MindShift KQED, NCTE’s Council Chronicle, ASCD’s Education Update, and more. Melissa earned her M.A. in English from Ohio University. Her work is focused on complicating the canon, supporting teachers, and empowering students through poetry.
Instructor: Brian Sztabnik
Brian Sztabnik has taught AP Literature and Composition at Miller Place High School since 2009. His experience with the development of the course, the exam, and teacher training is extensive. Over the past decade he has served on the Test Development Committee, he helped design the AP Literature and Composition Course and Exam Description, and he has worked as an AP Reader. As a result of his experience, Brian has created instructional videos for AP Classroom, presented on behalf of the College Board at national conferences such as NCTE and the AP Annual Conference, and has chaired the College Board’s English Advisory Committee while serving on its Academic Advisory Council. He continues to serve as the Lead Consultant for AP Literature. In 2025 he co-authored 100% Engagement: 33 Lessons to Promote Participation, Beat Boredom, and Deepen Learning in the ELA Classroom, which was a #1 best seller on Amazon.
Instructor: Terri Pruitt
Syllabus: AP Seminar (ELA)
Terri T. Pruitt is a dedicated educator, instructional coach, and national AP consultant with nearly three decades of experience in secondary English instruction, curriculum development, and teacher leadership. She currently serves as the High School Literacy Coach for AP Capstone and AP Alignment in the Red Clay Consolidated School District in Delaware, where she supports teachers and students across multiple schools and works to expand equitable access to rigorous coursework.
A College Board AP Seminar Consultant and AP Reader/Table Leader, Terri trains and mentors teachers across the country and serves on College Board's National AP Seminar English 10 Teaching & Learning Team for which she conducts "Chat with a Content Expert for AP Seminar English 10" and delivers Pre-Implementation Workshops for new districts launching AP Seminar as a 10th-grade English course. For College Board, She has also served on the AP Seminar Generative AI and the Pre-AP English & AP Seminar Vertical Alignment Team.
Terri’s national impact includes her role with A+ College Ready in Alabama (2023–2025), where she supports teachers implementing AP Seminar statewide, and her repeated presentations at the College Board’s AP Annual Conference—most recently in 2023, 2024, and 2025—highlighting strategies for access, instructional differentiation, digital exam readiness, and teacher collaboration.
Since 2015, she has taught AP Seminar and, since 2020, AP Research, helping students develop inquiry, research, and communication skills foundational to the Capstone program. Her teaching portfolio also includes AP Language and AP Literature, where she fosters advanced literacy, rhetorical reasoning, and close reading skills. In 2024, she completed IB DP Category 1 training in English A: Literature through FLIBS, further expanding her interdisciplinary reach.
Whether working one-on-one with students, leading district initiatives, or presenting to national audiences, Terri brings passion, precision, and a deep commitment to empowering learners and educators alike. She believes that access to challenging coursework should not be a privilege, but a promise.