Dr. Terry Eder, the music theory teacher at Plano Senior High School, has been named a finalist for the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award and is eligible to receive a $30,000 cash prize if chosen. The winning teacher will be announced on Jan. 7 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio.
Presented annually by the Communities Foundation of Texas, the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award recognizes one AP teacher in a Texas public high school for remarkable contributions to their students and school, as well as to the teaching profession. Nominations for the award may be submitted by a teacher, administrator, AP student or parent of an AP student. The cash award is believed to be the largest individual prize offered to a public school educator in the United States.
“I was wowed, extremely humbled and highly honored to be recognized as a finalist for this award,” Eder said. “Especially since it’s named after the O’Donnells, who have helped more students take more challenging and rigorous courses in the fine arts.”
Eder is a choral conductor and music teacher with more than 30 years of experience at both the college and secondary levels. He currently serves as the music theory teacher at Plano Senior High School, where he teaches beginning and Advanced Placement music theory.
During his time at PSHS, Eder developed a one-day workshop on Vertical Teams in Music Theory for the College Board and has written an article on strategies for dealing with the sight singing portion of the AP exam. He is currently a member of the College Board AP Music Theory Development Committee.
Nominated by a colleague from Texas Christian University, Eder said he was surprised to have heard he was selected as one of the six semi-finalists.
As part of the application process, Eder submitted his resume and some letters written by former students.
“I get one or two [letters] every year from my students, saying how much of an impact I was on their education,” he said. “Some go on to pursue careers in music, while others don’t, but in my class they all gain knowledge that can be used in all facets of life.”
Through the years, the letters have helped Eder form his philosophy on teaching and served as an inspiration for the essay part of the application.
“The students who have been a part of my classes have been successful and many have been inspired in their study of music and music literacy. It is my strong belief that through working, discovering, creating and by applying themselves in a serious way, almost every student has the potential for success and can reach an acceptable degree of achievement in the study of music,” Eder wrote in his application. “For that reason I want to give every student who chooses to learn about music a chance to succeed in an advanced curriculum by utilizing innovative and challenging methods of teaching and learning. I am a teacher who continually reviews, revises and works to refine the methods and strategies necessary for delivery of a rigorous and challenging curriculum — a curriculum that focuses on helping students develop into independent and lifelong learners.”
Eder was announced as a finalist last week after a board interview from the award committee. When asked his philosophy on teaching, he said, “What students gain in my AP Music Theory class is something that makes a complete person. In the world, we, as a society, need doctors, scientists and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics-based careers, but even they need fine arts to some degree.”
As a finalist for the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award, Eder was selected for demonstrating a commitment to teaching and providing an exemplary model for leading students through AP curriculum. Approximately 80-85 percent of the music theory students that he has taught have received qualifying scores on the AP Music Theory exam over the past 12 years.
Eder came to Plano Senior High School from Newman Smith High School in Carrollton six years ago.
“When I came to Plano Senior, only 29 students were signed up for the course,” he said. “It has continually grown year after year, and 75 students are now enrolled. While I will not be so naive as to think that this increase has been only because of me and my teaching, I do believe that success breeds success. The students who have been a part of my classes have been successful and many have been inspired in their study of music and music literacy.”
The AP program offers high school students an opportunity to earn important credit hours at most of the nation’s colleges and universities. In just 20 years, AP classes have radically changed the educational landscape. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Texas, where participation in AP exams has outpaced the national average.
Morton H. Meyerson created the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award to recognize teachers who inspire, challenge and prepare students through AP curriculums – and to honor the O’Donnell’s commitment to education. The O’Donnell award is funded by The Morton H. Meyerson Tzedakah Fund.
The award honors Peter and Edith O’Donnell, Dallas-based philanthropists who established the O’Donnell Foundation in 1957 to focus on improving education in Texas. The O’Donnells and their foundation have developed and funded model programs designed to strengthen math, engineering, science and arts education. Central to the success of all of their programs are teachers at all levels, from elementary to graduate school.
The O’Donnell Foundation created the Advanced Placement Incentive Program, which has led to an increased number of high school students, especially minorities, who pass college-level courses in mathematics, science and English. The incentive program is the model for Advanced Placement incentive programs used by the National Math and Science Initiative as well as by high schools in Texas. The O’Donnells currently serve on the board of Advanced Placement Strategies, Inc., a nonprofit organization they founded to manage and implement the AP incentive program in Texas schools.
“We could not be more pleased to collaborate with Mort Meyerson on the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher Award,” said Brent Christopher, president and CEO of CFT. “This award recognizes those teachers going above and beyond every day. In addition to recognizing these wonderful teachers and the O’Donnells, it sheds light on the importance of the AP program. We look forward to recognizing many teachers from Texas for many years.”
In 2008, Robert Dennison, the Advanced Placement science teacher for the Houston Independent School District, received the inaugural O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher of the Year Award for his outstanding record in helping students master college-level work in high school.
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