The questions surrounding the English 3AP class this year were numerous, the largest of which being, who will be the new teachers? The answers are out and Mr. Kovalevich and Mrs. Langman are the new teachers taking over the difficult, but very important, curriculum. We got a chance to talk to Mr. Kovalevich and see where his head is with the new job.
Mr. Kovalevich, who comes from a family of English teachers (uncle taught English at East for 30 years), is in his 6th year of teaching. Formerly teaching 2H and 3A, “Mr. Kov” can now add English 3AP to his growing résumé. The huge difference between AP and any other level class is that there is a test at the end of the course and judging off the test results, students can earn college credit. That adds some pressure not only to the students but to teachers like Mr. Kovalevich as well. Mr. Kov says the largest amount of pressure comes from the desire for his students “to do well to help them in their future.” The English 3AP curriculum is rather advanced with the combination of grammar/writing skills with the always exciting American Literature. Yet this seems to be no problem for Mr. Kov who says that these subjects are his “favorite.” Mr. Kov knows the AP test is going to be challenging, but he has dealt with standardized testing before (SAT Review) and has full confidence in his students. “It’s different,” he says, “the amount we have to cover is more than usual, but it really [on the basis] is just an English class.”
The former English 3AP teacher was Mr. O’Donnell. Mr. O’Donnell had taught the course for 4 or 5 years and the course only started a few years before he started. AP is still relatively new in our curriculum. Mr. Kovalevich, who was in line for teaching AP starting last year, gives a lot of credit to Mr. O’Donnell for being “very helpful in preparing for this course.” The same can be said for Mrs. Langman, who Mr. Kov also credits for helping him through the new journey. Mr. Kovalevich, though still young, seems to be fully prepared to teach such a sophisticated class, and only wants the students to feel the same way. Being all about the development and building of the students, Mr. Kovalevich says “I really look forward to seeing students succeed.” That right there is the reason why Mr. Kovalevich loves his job; the effect it can have on today’s youth and tomorrows teachers. Mr. Kovalevich is definitely ready for a long year ahead of him and we as a community know that he along with Mrs. Langman and all the other teachers out there will do whatever it takes for students to feel comfortable and to succeed.