Mark DiGiacomo has traveled a most interesting path on his way to becoming a mentor to many teachers here at Pennington and beyond, as well as earning a reputation as a “mover-and-shaker” in the world of AP US History.
Even the road to earning his BA in religious studies at Westmount College in Santa Barbara, CA, was not without a detour. While working for an insurance company in California, Mr. DiGiacomo responded to a tip from a friend that Axl Rose, lead singer of Guns N’ Roses, needed a new personal assistant. For the next four years, Mr. DiGiacomo would serve in this capacity while finishing his bachelor’s degree. Since much of Rose’s touring days were behind him at that point, Mr. DiGiacomo acted primarily as a liaison between Rose and his lawyers, agents, and property management. His schedule was such that he was able to attend classes and finish his degree. Mr. DiGiacomo then traveled to Princeton where he attended Princeton Seminary, later earning a Master of Divinity.
Soon to complete his twentieth year at Pennington, Mr. DiGiacomo has solidified himself as a leader in the world of AP US History, also called APUSH. Originally joining Pennington as a maternity-leave replacement for Middle School English and compensatory skills in the Cervone Center, Mr. DiGiacomo soon became an Upper School teacher and took over APUSH in 2008-2009.
Although AP Readers (or graders), who travel each summer for eight days of AP Exam grading, generally require three years of experience to apply, Mr. DiGiacomo became a Reader merely a year after he started teaching the course. This appointment set in motion a series of opportunities that would enrich Mr. DiGiacomo's experience as an educator. For starters, he points to the invaluable behind-the-scenes knowledge that one gains as a Reader. “Schools are lucky to have teachers who serve as AP Exam Readers in the summer because they take part in top-notch professional development at no cost to their schools.”
Four years ago, Mr. DiGiacomo was promoted to Table Reader. In this role, Mr. DiGiacomo oversees the work of eight high school teachers and college professors to make sure that their scoring is in line with the guidelines set forth by The College Board. “In a sense, you act as a mentor to your colleagues. At times, you do have to have a hard conversation if a Reader is not applying the scoring guidelines accurately.” Occasionally, Mr. DiGiacomo has to employ diplomacy with his university colleagues. “Some arrive at a Reading expecting high school students to write like 21-year-old college students, and we have to explain to them that we’re working with 16-17 year olds.”
Mr. DiGiacomo continues to become even more involved in APUSH work, all of which he sees as an opportunity not only to educate other teachers but to learn from them as well. Starting in 2015, Mr. DiGiacomo has been a College-Board-certified APUSH teacher consultant. In this role, he travels to high school districts and colleges all over the country for four-day workshops designed to train teachers on how to best approach this AP course. “Although I’m the instructor for these teachers, I walk away with resources that participants share with all of us. These workshops definitely inform the way I teach my classes from year to year.”
Mr. DiGiacomo also serves as an AP Mentor throughout the year for teachers all over the country. Drawing from his five years of experience as a faculty mentor at Pennington, Mr. DiGiacomo meets online once a month with teachers, most of whom are new to the APUSH course, to discuss with them best practices.
And, beginning in the fall of 2024, Mr. DiGiacomo will join the Test Development Committee for APUSH. This group of ten high school and college instructors will meet periodically throughout the year in Washington DC to draft upcoming APUSH Exams for the next few years. With a testing base of 400,000 students per year, which in turn produces two million written pieces to assess, receiving an invitation to join this committee is a testament to the hard work Mr. DiGiacomo has put in.
Mr. DiGiacomo recently returned from a semester-long sabbatical during which he accomplished a few other goals. Through the Bucks Institute in California, he took a course on project-based learning (PBL) in order to see how he could better incorporate projects in his history classes. “I figure we’re about a quarter way into the 21st century so I should strive to teach in ways that are different from what I did 20 years ago.” Mr. DiGiacomo finds that whereas students most always cooperate nicely in the classroom, teachers need to give students strategies that will help them to collaborate on long-term assignments in which they must learn to manage time and work together to produce a summative project-based product. “These are the types of skills that the kids can take with them to the workplace.”
In addition to a family trip to Puerto Rico where he was able to do some research on his family lineage, Mr. DiGiacomo engaged in publishing work. First, he edited the chapter assessments and resources for Eric Foner’s latest AP edition of his book Give Me Liberty!, a leading text used in APUSH classrooms around the country. In addition, Mr. DiGiacomo then wrote the course pacing and planning guide for this textbook which teachers will use to help plan out their school year.
When Mr. DiGiacomo isn’t engaged in history-related work, which also included a six-year stint as the School’s history chair, he has supervised a number of activities. In his early years, this included hockey, softball, and baseball, but for the past sixteen years, Mr. DiGiacomo has worked with the seniors on their Spring Play. As the show is exclusively written and directed by seniors, he and his co-advisor, Mr. Moore, essentially act as springboards for ideas. This year’s group consisted of five different student writers—all with extensive Pennington Theatre program experience—and Mr. DiGiacomo was especially happy to witness the clear thought and planning which went into all facets of the play, including the script, music, costumes, and sets.
Students can also find Mr. DiGiacomo on YouTube, as he has recently completed the 2024 exam review videos for AP Classroom on APUSH. He’s also applied to present at next year’s College Board Forum on a topic with which he already has presentation experience: the use of political cartoons in the history classroom.
Mr. DiGiacomo is grateful to Pennington for allowing him to pursue his outside interests, and the School is equally thankful for Mr. DiGiacomo’s dedication to his field!