POULSBO — When a school district works to implement a new program or focus efforts in another area of education, performance issues may result.

Advanced Placement, or AP, courses are no different, said Aaron Leavell, North Kitsap School District’s director of secondary education. As more students try their hand at AP courses, or other programs not typically taken by a large body of students, there tends to be an “implementation dip.”

That was not the case for NKSD and its students and teachers.

The district recently was honored by the College Board as a District of the Year on the AP Honor Roll.

“The two high schools have done a really nice job — teachers, counselors and principals — of making AP open and accessible for all students,” Leavell said of Kingston and North Kitsap high schools.

While the district increased student access to AP courses, it increased the percentage of students earning a score of 3 or higher on AP exams. Since 2009, the number of students doing AP coursework increased from 316 to 371.

North Kitsap School District is one of 14 districts in Washington to be recognized.

Leavell, who began working in the district two years after it became a goal to increase students in AP courses, said he does not feel there were any real challenges in the process. He said the key was promoting AP, showing students the benefit and preparing those student for the more difficult work. Giving teachers time to collaborate, such as professional development workshops, were also part of the success.

AP is a program offered by the College Board. Students passing AP classes earn college credit at the high school level. There are currently 34 courses and exams offered by the College Board. The board’s website describes AP courses as “not memorizing facts and figures”; instead, students “engage in intense discussions, solve problems collaboratively and learn to write clearly and persuasively.”

The college-level work AP students complete is exactly what to expect: challenging.

At times, the work is so difficult students begin to resent the class. By the end, however, students will be nothing but appreciative, North Kitsap High School English/AP teacher Peggy Dunbar said.

Dunbar began teaching at the high school six years ago. Before Kathy Prasch became principal just over five years ago — she’s now retired — the advanced courses were not a focus of the school, she said. After Prasch was hired, she sent teachers to AP training “and it took off.”

Since then, Dunbar said the school continues to add courses and students are able to get a feel for higher education before graduating. Now she receives calls from former students who are now having an easier time in college thanks to those classes.

“It’s really exciting,” Dunbar said of the honor roll award.

In order to continue expanding AP, Dunbar said teachers will attempt to recruit students early on in high school. Along with hosting an “AP night” and other events, older students discuss the benefits of the program with the younger ones during designated class visits.

The classes have expanded into Career and Technical Education as well.

Right now, the 2D and 3D art courses tend to be the “strongest component” of the advanced CTE offerings, CTE director Patrick Olsen said.

“There are some extraordinary things being done out of those classes,” he said.

Other classes with AP components include environmental science and psychology. Olsen said there are possibilities of expanding other courses to include AP — bio-technology and bio-medicine are two popular ideas — but right now there are no plans.

Along with the course offerings, CTE instructors Eric Nieland and Theresa Aubin Ahrens are now AP trainers for teachers in Washington.