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Middletown officials review plan to replace AP U.S. History with dual-enrollment course
Summary
Middletown School District staff proposed replacing AP U.S. History with a university-run dual-enrollment American history course if local teacher approvals arrive; board members pressed for details about transferability, staffing and timing.
Elizabeth Mancini, a high school social studies teacher, told the Middletown School District Curriculum Committee on March 6 that the district is proposing a shift from AP U.S. History to a dual-enrollment (ECE) American history course taught in partnership with Connecticut universities.
Mancini said the proposed course would cover U.S. history from Reconstruction to the present and “matches what we are currently offering at the high school,” allowing a seamless transition from middle school U.S. history to the high school sequence. She described the move as teacher-initiated work that began when Ryan Mallory, the district’s former AP U.S. History teacher, pursued a second master’s to qualify as a dual-enrollment instructor before his death last summer.
Mancini listed potential university partners and staffing conditions: one teacher already holds a master’s in U.S. history; two teachers are taking coursework required by the University of Connecticut (UConn); two teachers have applications pending with Central Connecticut State University (CCSU); and two applied to Southern Connecticut State University. She said the district could offer the ECE course only if teachers receive university approval and the curriculum committee approves the change.
The benefits Mancini cited include guaranteed college credit upon successful completion of the course, more flexibility for teachers within an approved university syllabus, sustained student engagement through semester-long instruction rather than short-term AP test preparation, and free university-provided training. She said the only foreseeable district cost is limited summer curriculum work teachers might choose to do and be paid for within an annual dollar cap.
Board member Sheila Daniels asked whether any teachers were currently qualified to teach the ECE sections. Mancini replied that UConn requires a master’s specifically in U.S. history and that “we have one teacher who does have a master’s in history” and others working toward approval.
Committee members asked whether ECE credits transfer beyond Connecticut. Mancini said dual-enrollment credits are college credits and “are transferable to a variety of universities and colleges around the country.” A separate comment in the meeting noted that Central Connecticut’s threshold for awarding credit for an ECE course is a grade of 75 or higher.
Several board members and staff stressed that if the district cannot secure university approvals for instructors for fall scheduling, the district would continue to offer AP U.S. History until approvals are obtained; Mancini said the district would aim to offer the ECE course in the fall if approvals arrive, or defer to the following year if not.
No formal vote or curriculum-committee approval was recorded at the meeting; the presentation concluded with committee members requesting additional data about other districts’ practices and noting the state Department of Education’s encouragement of dual-enrollment partnerships.
