More opportunities are coming in the fall of 2014 to challenge the hard-working Glencoe High School and West End High School students for greater success.
Glencoe High School and West End High School are two of the 21 high schools across the state that have been selected to participate in a statewide initiative to increase the number of students prepared to take rigorous college courses in math and science and English.
Through this partnership between the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) and A+ College Ready, comprehensive training and student support programs will be implemented in Glencoe High School and West End High School to boost enrollment and success in Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-AP.
All of the new schools were recognized by a resolution of the State Board of Education at its May 14 meeting in Montgomery.
The schools invited to join the ALSDE / A+ College Ready program this year will be the seventh group of schools participating in this college-readiness program, which now expands this high-quality, challenging program to almost half of all Alabama public school districts.
The ALSDE / A+ College Ready program provides extensive training and support for teachers and students. AP teachers attend weeklong Summer Institutes, get two days of additional professional development each fall, get coaching from successful, experienced AP teachers, participate in a mock exam reading, and receive stipends to compensate them for the extra time and work involved in teaching AP.
Students participate in Saturday study sessions lead by experienced master teachers.
Financial stipends based on academic results are also available to teachers, students, and school leaders. Program schools receive this level of support for three years.
State School Superintendent Tommy Bice presented the resolution and gave credit to the ALSDE / A+ College Ready partnership for helping Alabama students become college and career ready.
“This partnership between the ALSDE, A+ College Ready and the schools will help ensure that Alabama students are better prepared to succeed when they get to college and help them gain marketable skills in critical thinking and problem solving,” Dr. Bice said.
A+ College Ready, a division of the A+ Education Partnership, was created with a $13.2 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to implement a proven Advanced Placement training and stipend initiative in public schools throughout Alabama.
Key leadership involved in launching and supporting A+ College Ready included the Governor, the State Superintendent of Education, the Alabama Power Foundation, The Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative, Regions Financial Corporation, Boeing and ExxonMobil Corporation.
For more information, please visit http://www.apluscollegeready.org