Hillsborough County teacher says IB, AP and extracurriculars give students a head start

A teacher with Hillsborough County Public Schools said they love teaching and that Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, together with sports and clubs, give students opportunities to earn college credit and develop a well-rounded high school experience.

In remarks included in the transcript, the teacher described personal rewards from working with teenagers and cited students who later returned to thank them, saying some graduates ‘‘already have, like, 20 college credits.’’

The comment summed up several points the teacher raised about the district: the personal satisfaction of teaching, the range of extracurricular activities, and academic opportunities that can translate into postsecondary credits. ‘‘What makes my role more than just a job? Well, I love teaching. Working with kids, especially teenage kids keeps you young,’’ the teacher said. The speaker also said, ‘‘students have a lot of opportunities to do various sports, other activities, clubs,’’ and pointed to both IB and AP courses as routes that let students earn college credit.

Those descriptions are presented as the speaker’s observations; the transcript does not include district-level data or corroborating statistics beyond the teacher’s anecdote that some students finished high school with about 20 college credits. The remarks did not propose policy changes or record any formal action by a governing body.

The teacher’s final comment in the excerpt was: ‘‘So I I think it’s a great opportunity.’’