Students in the United States face an increasingly competitive college admissions process. High school seniors must prove themselves capable of university level work. The standard for evidencing such capacity is through enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Upon completion of the AP course students sit for the corresponding national exam. A passing score on the AP exam signifies a student's mastery of knowledge and is an integral part of college admissions decisions. Unfortunately, the Advanced Placement program has replicated societal inequities. Rural, urban, minority and/or low-income students disproportionately lack access to these higher-level course offerings, resulting in an access gap. Furthermore, once enrolled in AP courses, these students are largely unsuccessful at passing the corresponding exams, resulting in an achievement gap. While marginalized students have gained greater access to AP curricula over the past twenty years, a disparity between their rates of enrollment and their pass rates on the AP exam persist. Higher education remains a viable way for many students to disrupt negative cycles and positively alter the trajectories of their lives. Hence, it is imperative that teachers close the gap between AP access and achievement. This qualitative study examined the beliefs and practices of two successful AP teachers in an urban Maryland public high school. During the 2016-2017 school year, both educators participated in interviews and were observed while teaching in their classrooms. Data analysis revealed that care for and commitment to students and the teaching profession were central to the participants' beliefs and practices. Each teacher employed culturally relevant pedagogy and displayed pedagogical content knowledge, as many great educators do. Yet what enabled these teachers to distinguish themselves was their ability to marry content and pedagogy in a way that gave students multiple opportunities to practice the critical thinking skills that would be required of them on the AP exam. The data also showed that both teachers faced considerable challenges, including a dearth of job-embedded professional development experiences. The results of this study highlight the need for comprehensive structural support of teachers and the AP program in urban schools if the access-achievement gap is to be closed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]