In this episode, Professional Learning Director Michelle Olah and Instructional Strategist Julie Pacheco-Toye sit down with Jan Hagedorn, the Managing Editor of APunta al Futuro, Wayside’s new AP® Spanish Language and Culture program. We'll offer insights into the redesigned AP® Spanish exam, what the changes mean for teachers and students, and how the textbook was intentionally developed from the ground up to align with the new exam.
Host Julie Pacheco-Toye sat down with Dr. Jan Hagedorn to explore APunta al Futuro, Wayside Publishing's brand-new AP® Spanish Language and Culture program, designed from the ground up to align with the redesigned AP® exam launching in the 2026–27 school year.
The conversation opened with an overview of the College Board's most significant change: the new course project. Beginning in January, students will receive six to eight sources as a launch point, then conduct their own research and prepare a three-minute presentation with follow-up Q&A. Dr. Hagedorn confirmed that the follow-up questions will be standardized (recorded), and noted that APunta al Futuro includes a dedicated question bank to help students prepare for that Q&A segment.
APunta al Futuro carries a deliberate double meaning—pointing toward the AP® exam and toward students' futures. Dr. Hagedorn described the program's two core goals: full alignment with the updated AP® course description and exam framework, and a genuine focus on helping students see how Spanish can be meaningful and useful in real life—in careers, travel, and everyday interactions.
Each of the six units is organized around one of the six AP® themes. Within every unit, students move through instructional contexts that include vocabulary, two authentic sources with pre-reading/listening activities, grammar instruction, formative evaluations, and a final assessment. Alternating units feature either a full argumentative essay or a complete unit project, both designed to build confidence and readiness for the course project element well before January.
Dr. Hagedorn highlighted examples like students developing marketing materials for a Puerto Rican singer's album, or analyzing living expenses across Spanish-speaking cities and creating a budget plan. These tasks are intentionally designed to feel relevant and exciting—not just exam prep.
Julie raised the reality of AP® classrooms: heritage speakers, near-native students, and school-only learners all in the same room. Dr. Hagedorn walked through how the program addresses this through flexible presentational and interpersonal tasks, teacher notes on every other page of the teacher edition with scaffolding strategies, and support for heritage learners—all while keeping every student anchored to the shared authentic sources.
A recurring theme was reducing teacher burden. Dr. Hagedorn acknowledged the hours teachers spend searching for the right authentic source—one that hits the vocabulary, the grammar, the theme, and is actually engaging. APunta al Futuro has done that curation work for every instructional context, across the Spanish-speaking world.
Looking ahead to the next Poolside Proficiency event (focused on the proficiency pipeline from Level 1 to AP®), Dr. Hagedorn noted that APunta al Futuro intentionally includes can-do statements (a throughline students will recognize from programs like EntreCulturas), reinforcing that AP® readiness is built year over year, not just in the AP® course itself.
Dr. Hagedorn's parting message: start by taking stock of everything you're already doing well; most of it still applies. Then, take a look at a sampler of APunta al Futuro and see how the vocabulary, grammar, authentic source, and project scaffolding fit together. The new exam doesn't mean starting from scratch.
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