AP Spanish Language and Culture – Parthena Draggett

This session AP Spanish Language and Culture –  with Parthena Draggett is offered during ONLINE WaltonAPSI Week 1: June 15-18, 2026 and again IN PERSON during Week 2: June 22-25, 2026 at Walton High School in Marietta, Georgia.

Meet your APSI Consultant for AP Spanish Language & Culture

Parthena Draggett has had a long career as a professional educator: 39+ years teaching a wide variety of Spanish and French courses at the secondary and university levels. She is retired from the Community School of Naples, Florida, where she also supervised Pre-K to 12 world languages, building Vertical Alignment and Pre-AP Strategies across languages and levels. Prior to CSN, Parthena had spent 34 years teaching in Ohio, the last 24 at Jackson High School in Massillon, Ohio, where she also served as Department Chair and had founded the AP Spanish Language and Culture and the AP Spanish Literature and Culture programs. 

An enthusiastic AP and Pre-AP teacher, Parthena also regularly participates in the AP Spanish Language and Culture Reading where she serves as a Table Leader. In addition, she regularly presents at many conferences, including AATSP, ACTFL, FFLA, OFLA, NECTFL, COFLT, ICTFL, FLANC, and of course the AP Annual Conference.

Parthena is the lead author of the AP Spanish Language and Culture textbook, Temas, published by Vista Higher Learning, as well as co-author of Thèmes, for AP French, and the accompanying AP preparation worktexts for both. She has represented AP languages on the College Board AP Consultants’ Panel and served on the 2008 AP Spanish Standards Setting Panel Parthena is co-author of the College Board thematic Curriculum Module, El arte – ventana y espejo, used in previous AP Spanish Language and Culture AP Summer Institutes and has participated in editing and composing sample syllabi for the AP Spanish Language and Culture Course Audit. Also, in her role as Moderator of the College Board AP

Spanish Community, Parthena works with AP Spanish teachers from all over the world. She is also currently serving as part of the AP Annual Conference Planning Committee.

Passionate about her work with both students and teachers in the quest for increased proficiency in language communication, Parthena was named as “Ohio’s World Language Teacher of the Year” for 2015.  She was also among the first teachers to earn National Board Certification in World Languages Other Than English. Parthena is proud to have served as the 2023 President of the American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese. She has also been named State Director of the Year for the Sociedad Honoraria Hispánica, as well as many chapter awards and distinctions over the years. In addition, she is a Praxis II Spanish Language Chief Scoring Leader and item writer for ETS.

Parthena maintains membership in ACTFL, as well as FFLA (Florida Foreign Language Teachers Association), and OFLA (Ohio Foreign Language Teachers Association). She earned her B.A. in Spanish and French from the University of Mount Union and her M.A. in Spanish and French Pedagogy and Applied Linguistics from Kent State University.

APSI Session Description

This AP Summer Institute will focus on AP® Spanish Language and Culture Course and Exam CHANGES, the NEW 2026 AP Spanish Language and Culture Course and Exam Description (CED), and strategies and best practices for teaching the course:

This APSI is intended for both new and experienced teachers of AP® Spanish Language and Culture, as well as for teachers in levels prior to AP, working on vertical alignment and seeking to support students’ preparation for the AP year. Using the NEW, Revised AP® Spanish Course and Exam Description as a guide, we will work together to examine and reflect on core elements of the AP® Spanish Language and Culture course and exam, with special focus on the NEW Course Project and related two NEW speaking tasks, putting it all into practice throughout the week. 

Key Focus Topics and APSI Learning Outcomes: (Essential questions for teacher reflection accompany each topic.)

The NEW 2026 Course and Exam Description (CED) and Course Planning: ¿Por qué es importante y cómo nos apoya en llevar a los estudiantes a mejorar sus destrezas y prepararse bien para el examen de AP en mayo?

• AP Course Introduction and Instructional Design: 

NEW and REVISED Thematic Units and Recommended Instructional Contexts, along with the continued importance of Culture, Authentic Resources, Modes of Communication, Scaffolding: ¿Cómo enseñamos el curso y qué herramientas nos apoyan en nuestras prácticas como docentes?

• NEW, condensed to 3 AP Skill Categories, Skills, and Learning Objectives: ¿Cómo se reflejan en la comunicación y las tareas del examen? ¿Qué queremos que los estudiantes puedan hacer y comunicar?

• Strategies for Instructional Planning: ¿Cómo enseñamos el curso para desarrollar las habilidades lingüísticas y experiencias culturales de los estudiantes?

• NEW AP Exam Structure with Revised and New Task Models, and Requirements: ¿Qué tienen que hacer los estudiantes y cómo para llegar al éxito en el examen de AP Spanish Language and Culture?

• The NEW Course Project and Two NEW Exam Speaking Tasks Based on the Project: ¿Cómo podemos preparar a los estudiantes para este proyecto desde el principio del año, estableciendo rutinas, andamiajes y estrategias que apoyen el proceso?

• The Role of Culture: ¿Cómo interpretamos y enseñamos los productos, las prácticas y las perspectivas? ¿Cómo guiamos a los estudiantes a entender la perspectiva de una comunidad? ¿Cómo integramos la cultura por todo el curso, todos los días?

• Strategies and Pedagogical Tools ~ Deep Dive Throughout the Week: Para cada tarea del examen, ¿Qué herramientas, sitios de red, actividades, aplicaciones y más nos apoyan en esta aventura de enseñar el curso de AP?

• Expanding AP Opportunities: ¿Cuál es la importancia para cada estudiante? ¿Cuál es la importancia para todo el programa de AP? ¿Cómo podemos honrar la diversidad presente en el salón de clase e involucrar a todos?

• Assess and Reflect: An in-depth look at each exam task and how to prepare for Section I, with changes in order, number, and type of interpretive MCQ task types; and Section II, with revised format FRQs, NEW speaking tasks, and NEW dimensional Scoring Guidelines, with helpful decision rules and scoring notes): ¿Cómo debemos preparar a los estudiantes para las tareas del examen de AP en mayo, fortaleciendo sus habilidades y aumentando su confianza?

• Providing Meaningful Feedback: ¿Cuál es el valor de la retroalimentación? ¿Cómo podemos comentar para guiar al estudiante a reflexionar y establecer metas para mejorar su comunicación, tanto en el contenido de las tareas como en la calidad del lenguaje? 

• Vertical Alignment: ¿Por qué es importante integrar los elementos del curso de AP desde el primer nivel de español? ¿Cómo beneficia a los estudiantes?

• AP Classroom: ¿Cómo lo navegamos y qué herramientas nos ofrece? ¿Cómo podemos utilizar estos recursos para avanzar el aprendizaje y la preparación de cada estudiante?

• AP Classroom – Navigation and Organization

• AP Classroom – AP Question Bank, Progress Checks, and other tools

• AP Classroom – Features of Performance Dashboard

• AP Daily: ¿Cómo accedemos a y usamos estos videos para enfocarnos más en las tareas del examen?

• New Course Audit Requirements – NEW required Audit with a NEW syllabus, addressing the nine Curricular Requirements: ¿Cómo demostramos que enseñamos el curso según las expectativas del College Board, integrando los elementos clave del CED?

Teachers will be provided with a template and will have time to work on their course syllabus. The syllabus will align to the NEW 2026 CED (key topics above) and will require teachers to show evidence meeting the nine Syllabus Curricular Requirements (short, abbreviated listing here):

• Communicate in Spanish exclusively and encouraging the same among students

• Develop skills by providing opportunities for students to engage in the study of interdisciplinary course content of the six revised thematic units

• Base the course on authentic instructional materials of all kinds (audio, visual, audiovisual (and from all over the Spanish-speaking world)

• Provide opportunities for students to engage in and build skills and objectives included in Skill Category 1 (Interpretive Mode)

• Provide opportunities for students to engage in and build skills and objectives included in Skill Category 2 (Interpersonal and Presentational Modes)

• Provide opportunities for students to engage in and build skills and objectives included in Skill Category 3 (Demonstrate Cultural Understanding; shown through Interpersonal and Presentational Modes)

• Prepare students for using Spanish in real-life situations

• Provide opportunities for students to develop keyboarding skills, typing in Spanish

• Dedicate instructional time and materials to guide students through the research project, including focus on the course skills.

Throughout our four days together, teachers are encouraged to share examples of their best instructional practices for building and strengthening Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational linguistic skills, as well as strategies for developing cultural understanding and skills.