AP Business with Personal Finance – In Person Week 2 – John Cook

This session AP Business with Personal Finance – with Dr. John Cook is offered IN PERSON in Week 2: June 22-25, 2026 at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia.

Meet your APSI Consultant for AP Business with Personal Finance

John Cook, Ed.D. is a high school business, accounting, and economics teacher in Savannah, Georgia, where he teaches at a Title I public high school. He has 17 years of classroom experience teaching courses including AP Macroeconomics, accounting, and  financial literacy. 

John holds a bachelor’s degree in economics and a Doctor of Education from Georgia Southern University. Before entering education, he worked in banking, an experience that continues to shape his approach to teaching markets, risk, and decision-making. He currently serves as department chair and FBLA advisor, with a focus on building strong, hands-on programs that connect coursework to real-world applications. 

He is deeply involved with the College Board, having served as an AP Macroeconomics Reader for 14 years. John has also contributed to the development of AP Business with Personal Finance in multiple roles, including work on the course framework, Project-Based Learning and Assessment Development committees, and as a Course Ambassador. 

John is well known for coaching student teams in competitive stock market simulations, emphasizing disciplined risk-taking and strategic thinking. His teams have earned multiple state and national titles, including a first-place national finish in the Capitol Hill Challenge. In 2013, he was named Georgia Economics Teacher of the Year. 

John lives with his wife Kirstin and daughter Taylor (7) in Savannah, and enjoys biking, live music and chess in his spare time. 

APSI Course Description:

AP Business with Personal Finance is a yearlong high school business and personal finance course that aligns closely with a college-level introduction to business course. Students explore the business disciplines of entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, accounting, and management through real-world business applications, case studies, and project based learning. In addition, students learn and apply all the National Standards for Personal

Financial Education created by the Council for Economic Education and the Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy. 

This new career course gives students the tools to take control of their careers, understand how businesses shape the world, and make confident, informed decisions.

This program is an interactive professional development experience. It includes an AP Summer Institute and optional online support sessions focused on implementing a project based learning approach in an AP classroom. 

Project Implementation Guides: Provide adaptable course planning and pacing, recommended assessments and assignments that encompass the entirety of the course. 

Summer Institute: Four-day training in the summer. The workshop includes project simulations, large group discussions, small group activities, reflection and critique, and individual learning. During the Summer Institute, you will:  

• Identify how students learn AP content and skills through course projects. 

• Understand and apply high-quality PBL design elements and teaching practices.

• Simulate and model PBL practices using examples from the course projects. 

• Adapt and prepare to implement the projects with your students. 

Support Sessions: Five optional online support sessions are offered throughout the academic year. These sessions will provide support and learning opportunities before the beginning of each project. In these support sessions, you will:  

• Reflect on prior project work to identify needs for future project implementation. 

• Review and adapt the upcoming project to best serve your students. 

• Refine your PBL practice within the context of a project based AP course. 

2026 WaltonAPSI / AP Business with Personal Finance / John Cook