Keira has been a powerhouse of creativity throughout her career as a secondary student. Keira’s independence, determination, and willingness to receive and apply constructive feedback suited the inquiry-based format of the AP Art and Design program. The professionalism and innovation in this portfolio show an intimate understanding of the fundamentals of drawing and design and the application of practice, experimentation, and revision.

From Keira, I learned to trust and support her decisions and provide critique in a feed-forward fashion. Keira will always stand out in my mind as one of the strongest art students to come out of our school. She has the respect of our staff, and the school community sees her as a leader, innovator, and creator. At Handsworth Secondary, we are well-supported by the school administration in the AP Art and Design program, and students are given the freedom to experiment, try again, revise, and succeed. Assessment is based on submitting many different, reworked versions of the final portfolio throughout the course. This living document in portfolio format is assessed and returned to students, using AP language and the scoring rubric, to ensure that students understand how they will be scored. Students then have a revised framework that they can copy over into the digital submission site once they are ready to submit the portfolio exam. I would advise other AP Art and Design teachers to attend an AP conference and learn from other AP teachers! It is extremely helpful to connect and learn from your colleagues.