A few days ago, high school students across Mississippi completed their Advanced Placement courses by taking rigorous AP exams. A decade ago, before Global Teaching Project launched its Advanced STEM Access Program, AP exams were a non-event in most of Mississippi, outside a very few, relatively comfortable enclaves.   A 2014 College Board study reported that Mississippi had, by a clear margin, the lowest AP participation and performance levels in the country. AP courses prepare students for college rigor, enhance admission prospects, and can reduce tuition costs by enabling students to earn college credit prior to enrollment.  Yet a Congressional …

Global Teaching Project tutor Madison Butchko, a Michigan native, is a senior at Yale University, pursuing a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in East Asian Studies. In the piece below, she reflects on her experiences working with AP Physics students in the Mississippi Delta. By: Madison Butchko Photos by: Yale Daily News In elementary school, I developed an unexpected passion for multiplication tables. Those daily timed tests became my arena where I consistently scored at the top, never missing a question. My teachers noticed, and before long, they recommended I skip ahead in math. I didn’t realize it then, …

The National Science Foundation has announced that Dane Peagler, a Mississippi educator who has been a Supervising Instructor with the Global Teaching Project since its inception, has been honored with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. The PAEMST program, administered by NSF on behalf of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, recognizes outstanding teachers for their contributions to the teaching and learning of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.  This major honor is conferred on just two teachers from each state for each year—one in math and one in science. Mr. Peagler, a native …

Students of all backgrounds have the aptitude and work ethic needed to excel if provided a quality education, write former Governor Barbour and former Congressman Espy.

A recent study by College Board, which created and administers the Advanced Placement (AP®) program, shows that the Global Teaching Project has been key to dramatically expanding opportunities for promising high school students from underserved Mississippi school districts to take AP classes over the past decade. AP classes significantly help promising students achieve their full potential, and prepare them for college rigor.  The Equity and Excellence Commission, an advisory committee chartered by Congress, concluded that disparities in AP access “aggravate the achievement gaps” and “impair our ability as a nation to raise student achievement.” The College Board study analyzed the …

From January 17 – 19, the Global Teaching Project hosted its 8th annual Advanced STEM Winter Program in Jackson, Mississippi.  Thanks to the dedication and effort of school administrators, teachers, students, and staff, the Program was a resounding success, with over 130 students in attendance, along with numerous teachers and educators from across the state. The Program, which is held annually over the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, aims to affirm the nexus between Civil Rights and educational opportunity, and to provide intensive instruction in the AP STEM courses students are enrolled in. The instructional sessions at Jackson State covered …

Professor Lisa Urry, Northeastern University Biologist and one of the world’s leading Science educators, has launched a program to help Global Teaching Project students develop the study skills needed to succeed in advanced STEM courses.  The program’s initial session, “Metacognition: The Key to Doing Well in Challenging Courses”, was conducted recently, with classes participating virtually from around Mississippi. Professor Urry is lead author of a series of Biology textbooks used in close to 90 percent of AP Biology classes, and 60 percent of introductory college Biology courses.  She also has written and spoken widely on effective Science education practices. Professor Urry works closely with GTP and its students to hone …

The Global Teaching Project provides promising students in rural, high-poverty Mississippi communities access to advanced STEM classes their schools otherwise may not offer.  Last year, GTP worked with hundreds of students in 39 schools to offer four classes—AP Biology, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Physics 1, and AP Statistics. Each of those schools have success stories that emphatically affirm GTP’s premise—every community has bright students with the aptitude and work ethic needed to excel academically, if provided the opportunity and strong support. John Knighten and Angel Lewis, seniors at Madison S. Palmer High School in Marks, recently achieved two of …

Teachers and administrators from 19 schools in 16 school districts came to Delta State University in Cleveland, MS in mid-August to prepare for classes in AP Biology, AP Computer Science Principles, AP Physics 1, and AP Statistics to be offered through the Global Teaching Project in the 2024-2025 academic year. A total of 47 educators participated in the DSU Professional Development program, at which AP-certified Supervisory Instructors led sessions to deepen teachers’ understanding of course content, explore effective teaching strategies for advanced STEM subjects, and collaborate in small-group activities designed to foster their growth as educators. GTP’s blended instructional model …

Each August, teams of Global Teaching Project Teaching Assistants–current STEM majors at, and recent graduates of, leading universities around the country–visit schools throughout rural Mississippi to work in-person with students and teachers to help GTP’s Advanced Placement STEM courses get off to a strong start. The August visits are a key component of a sequence of instructional initiatives throughout the year that help GTP students succeed in rigorous AP science classes. GTP’s students are selected by their schools based on their aptitude and work ethic, but they often have significant gaps in their substantive foundations.  GTP works to help students …

Oso, a Texas native, graduated from Yale in 2023 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. While at Yale, Oso excelled in the classroom, in the arts, and on the football field.  Oso has earned acclaim for his art, and also was a standout defensive end, earning recognition as one of the nation’s top scholar-athletes.  Oso was among just 15 finalists for the William V. Campbell Trophy, the “academic Heisman” presented by National Football Foundation to college football’s premier scholar-athlete, for which Oso was awarded a postgraduate scholarship. Oso first began work with GTP in 2019 while still a Yale undergraduate, …