Economics teacher develops tool kit
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Richland Northeast High School

RNE teacher Bill McCormick, co- author of "AP Economics Teaching Tool Kit," works with student Tenell Felder.

Bill McCormick is Richland Northeast High School's longtime advanced placement (AP) microeconomics and macroeconomics teacher, the only teacher in Richland School District Two who covers both areas. His students consistently get high scores on the AP economics exams.

McCormick, a National Board Certified teacher who holds a BA in education and an MBA from the University of South Carolina, co- authored the "AP Economics Teaching Tool Kit" with Linda M. Manning, a professor at the University of Ottawa.

"It's basically a roadmap for the teacher that correlates Paul Krugman's engaging textbook with the AP Economics curriculum," said McCormick, who added that the tool kit took a year to develop. It was published in March by Bedford, Freeman and Worth, which also published Economics, by Krugman and Robin Wells.

Along with a handful of other teachers, McCormick is a RNE lifer, having taught there since the school opened its doors almost 29 years ago. In addition, he teaches AP economics classes in other district high schools, is a member of the adjunct faculty at Southern Wesleyan University, a National Endowment for the Humanities Scholar, on the Curriculum Development and Standards Writing Committees for the State of South Carolina, and an AP Microeconomics Exam reader.

"He doesn't just teach," said Max Virkus, an RNE graduate and former AP economics student. "He makes the subject more exciting than you ever expected it to be."