FLATWOODS - Wanda Sheets wants her English students to expect more.

"Not whether or not you're going to go [to college], because that can't be an option anymore," said Sheets, a teacher at Elkview Middle School.

She hopes more middle school students will consider where they plan to continue their education, and what courses they wish to study.

This fall, every public high school in West Virginia must offer at least four Advanced Placement classes.

"Which is good," Sheets said. "I think it had to be forced. But it's time, it's past time."

The New York-based College Board, best known for its SAT exam, also certifies Advanced Placement classes nationwide.

The college-level courses are often considered the most challenging offered to high school students.  

Sheets and five other Elkview Middle teachers attended an AP training seminar last week at Braxton County Middle School in Flatwoods.

While only high schools offer AP courses, middle school teachers hope to groom more students for the high-level courses.

Last week, Sheets learned strategies to improve a student's critical thinking. For instance, training leader Alan Hewitt offered ways to help students better analyze a poem by dissecting its elements to find meaning.

Michele Vogel, another English teacher at Elkview, discovered new ways to help students think critically when they read. Anagrams like S.O.A.P.S. are used to organize ideas. That model asks students to first consider a passage's general subject, followed by time and place (occasion), audience, purpose and the speaker who tells the story.         

"Most of the kids having difficulty are having problems with organization," said Carolyn Stephens, a seventh-grade reading teacher at Elkview Middle.

Stephens believes she can adapt the strategies she learned last week to all her students, not just those she expects will take Advanced Placement classes in high school.

Debra Wilson, a sixth-grade math teacher at Elkview Middle, worked alongside algebra teacher Jennifer Rogers and seventh-grade math teacher Patreca Swanson. Rogers and Swanson also work at Elkview Middle.

FLATWOODS - Wanda Sheets wants her English students to expect more.

"Not whether or not you're going to go [to college], because that can't be an option anymore," said Sheets, a teacher at Elkview Middle School.

She hopes more middle school students will consider where they plan to continue their education, and what courses they wish to study.

This fall, every public high school in West Virginia must offer at least four Advanced Placement classes.

"Which is good," Sheets said. "I think it had to be forced. But it's time, it's past time."

The New York-based College Board, best known for its SAT exam, also certifies Advanced Placement classes nationwide.

The college-level courses are often considered the most challenging offered to high school students.  

Sheets and five other Elkview Middle teachers attended an AP training seminar last week at Braxton County Middle School in Flatwoods.

While only high schools offer AP courses, middle school teachers hope to groom more students for the high-level courses.

Last week, Sheets learned strategies to improve a student's critical thinking. For instance, training leader Alan Hewitt offered ways to help students better analyze a poem by dissecting its elements to find meaning.

Michele Vogel, another English teacher at Elkview, discovered new ways to help students think critically when they read. Anagrams like S.O.A.P.S. are used to organize ideas. That model asks students to first consider a passage's general subject, followed by time and place (occasion), audience, purpose and the speaker who tells the story.         

"Most of the kids having difficulty are having problems with organization," said Carolyn Stephens, a seventh-grade reading teacher at Elkview Middle.

Stephens believes she can adapt the strategies she learned last week to all her students, not just those she expects will take Advanced Placement classes in high school.

Debra Wilson, a sixth-grade math teacher at Elkview Middle, worked alongside algebra teacher Jennifer Rogers and seventh-grade math teacher Patreca Swanson. Rogers and Swanson also work at Elkview Middle.

"We're trying to work together so we won't repeat the same [math] skills at each grade level," Wilson said.

Rogers said she wants to see more Elkview students excel at higher-level math classes.

The six Elkview teachers joined colleagues from Ritchie, Calhoun, Barbour, Harrison, Wetzel, Mason and Morgan counties last week. The state's Center for Professional Development secured state grants this year to provide several middle- and high-school teams with up to $30,000 each to expand their AP programs.        

"We're fortunate to be able to be involved in this," Sheets said. "No one needs it more than in our area, in Elkview, West Virginia. This is the kind of thing I don't mind giving up my summer for."

State Superintendent of Schools Steve Paine said students will receive AP courses in person, through video teleconferences or through the Internet-based West Virginia Virtual School, a statewide distance-learning program.

"The AP rigor is what is required for all kids that are going to a four-year school," Paine said. "For those going to a four-year, our courses need to really begin to look at the rigor of an AP course. I think that's the proper thing to do."

Some officials at public colleges and universities that offer dual-credit courses might cringe at the idea of an expanded AP curriculum.

High school seniors often pay to enroll in dual-credit courses on local campuses that offer both college and high school credit.

High school students need a score of "3" or better on an AP exam to receive credit at a state college or university.

Paine said the content of a dual-credit course can vary from district to district.

"The College Board has a very sophisticated, well-researched process," he said.

More rigorous coursework and critical thinking skills are essential to the state's 21st Century Learning initiative, which Paine touts as a way to expand public education beyond the basics of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

He's also behind a legislative action this year that separates the state's two-year and four-year colleges. He said that would make it easier for teachers at secondary schools to assist both those students who expect to attend college and those who plan to enter a two-year vocational or technical school.

Reach Davin White at davinwh...@wvgazette.com or 348-1254.