How To Become an AP Spanish Teacher: Part 1

Are you interested in learning how to become an AP Spanish Teacher? There’s a lot that goes into it, and the process can seem daunting. This will be a series of blog posts designed to lead you through that process so that you can create a pathway for your students to earn college credits for Spanish!

First Requirements

If you’re wondering how to become an AP Spanish teacher, there are a few things you need to have in place as your very first steps.

Your school district needs to be on board and give permission.
There needs to be an AP Coordinator. At my school, it’s the Department Chair of School Counseling.

If you are approaching the decision makers in your district, there are a few things they will want to know. First, they need to know if will cost them some money. A lot of these costs are flexible, but include things like: buying materials for you to teach with, either in the form of textbooks or done-for-you curriculum. Another expense SHOULD be the cost of your training and your time for your training. There are scholarships available for this. You will also need time to create a course syllabus and curriculum. This should be paid work.

Next Step in How To Become an AP Spanish Teacher

Assuming you have the green light from your district, the next step to become an AP Spanish teacher is to sign up for the training. You can usually find this training offered online or in person. The training session is usually 5 full work days, and they are offered in the summer.

I would have been completely lost without this training. Teaching AP Spanish (Language and Culture) is complicated. There are a lot of things to know and a lot of things to weave together when creating an effective program for your students. Attending this training gave me the confidence and direction I needed, as well as some great contacts and new friends/colleagues!

Don’t Forget- You Need Students!

Another important part of starting any new course is that you need a course description in your program of studies along with students to register for your class! In my district, students choose classes for the next year right after midterms in January. So be sure to get your course into the program of studies before then!

Share the new class in as many ways as possible! Ask the teachers of the class that will come before AP Spanish if you can visit and do a short presentation! I also create an informational video that explains what we do and how we do it. It’s important to explain how valuable earning college credits is for students, but also not to scare them away!

Where To Learn More About How To Become an AP Spanish Teacher

Here are a few links to follow to learn about how to become an AP Spanish teacher. You can find the specific things that College Board needs to start an AP class as well as where to find the training sessions that you should attend before your first day on the job!

Stay tuned for the next part in the series where I will explain how to make the course syllabus!

How To Start an AP Spanish Class