Dr. Capozzoli Takes Over AP Bio, And Students Face Unique Challenge As They Switch Teachers Mid-Year

A biologist holding a pipette as they perform an experiment in a laboratory. Photo Credits: Julia Koblitz on Unsplash

Rebecca Billette, Editor-in-Chief of The Powderhorn

A few weeks ago, students in Ms. Hurst’s AP Biology class opened their emails and were met with some unexpected news: their teacher was leaving. While many people have to switch careers suddenly for unavoidable and understandable reasons, there is a particular stress induced when students have to readjust to a new teacher halfway through the school year, especially with a class as rigorous and comprehensive as AP Biology. To make matters worse, this is the first year AP Bio has been an A/B class instead of its previous everyday/all-year format, contributing to student anxiety. Luckily, Dr. Capozzoli, an experienced AP science teacher, has grabbed this bull by the horns, and had only one thing to say when she took over AP Biology at the beginning of the spring semester: “Bring it.”

“When I first found out about Ms. Hurst leaving, I was definitely worried about the switch,” said senior Emmy Martinez. “However, I think Dr. Capozzoli has done a great job at making the transition a smooth one.”

As an additional challenge, Dr. Capozzoli has traditionally taught AP Environmental Science, meaning her last experience with college-level biology was when she took it as a student. As a result, Capozzoli has been putting in extra hours to rapidly get herself up to speed for her students.

“Every minute outside of school, I'm reading biology, and there's no extra pay,” said Dr. Capozzoli.
 “But it makes sense to me because I do care about the students, I care about Watauga High School's reputation, our scores, like all that stuff, right? I want this and I care about the students. I know that I'm going to do it to the best of my ability.”

While it may seem like the odds are stacked against this class, Dr. Capozzoli is confident that the students will be prepared before their AP test in May. On her first day with her new classes, Capozzoli showed them the annual average scores of her APES classes over the years, and the impressive growth they have seen, hoping to instill confidence in her teaching capabilities.

“When I think of success on AP exams, there's the content—  you need to know the language— but then you also need to just know scientific practices, because so much of the AP exam is just ‘How do you think like a scientist?’
And that is transferable to all the sciences,” said Dr. Capozzoli.

However, no amount of competence and reassurance can ever fully eliminate the worries of a student, and the AP Biology students are facing a challenge that most have never experienced.

“I'm not as confident as I would like for the upcoming exam for sure,” Martinez said. “Both Ms. Hurst's teaching style and Dr. Cap's are very different and it has been a little difficult to adjust. I think some of this is also due to the AP Bio course going from year long to AB. I find myself having to do a lot of work outside of school to keep up.”

While it is not an easy transition, and the stress levels are at an all-time high, students and Dr. Capozzoli alike are keeping their heads up and maintaining a positive attitude. 

“Taking on an A/B class essentially means, I get four new classes, 100 new students to learn in one day and like three days notice,” said Capozzoli. “
But I'm always just thinking ‘What are you going to do with your opportunities and changes?’ You can wallow in frustration and just make everything worse or be like, okay, let's just let's do this. We're going to make the best of it.”

Making the best of it has been the strategy employed thus far, and with incredible effort on everyone’s parts, a path forward is beginning to take shape. Students have especially had to rely on each other for extra understanding and support.

“I find it best to meet up with others in the class and work through anything we don't understand together. It helps me stay motivated to keep on top of the workload and studying,” said Martinez.

Dr. Capozzoli has always had a passion for, not just teaching, but learning, so she is viewing this experience as an opportunity to further her own knowledge and develop new skills. She believes this makes her an even better educator, and allows her to relate to and learn alongside her students.

“I remember one time when I was trying to learn a dance— it was actually Ms. Carson’s faculty dance performance— and I was in the class with all the cheerleading teachers and all these people that are dancers, and they were picking it up so easily and I was just over here struggling like, ‘Where’s my right foot?’” said Dr. Capozzoli. “It was a good reminder to me that teachers need to constantly learn new things so that we remember what it's like to not just know something so well. And it feels great to be back fully in the learner seat because I think it makes me a better teacher.”