Gaston Caperton presents the Inspiration Award to students at the Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington, D.C.

The Advanced Placement Program® is not just a program at Friendship Collegiate Academy; it’s a state of mind. The outstanding AP® program, strong relationships with colleges through dual enrollment, and scholarship-winning students at this Washington, D.C., charter school has earned the school the 2008 College Board Inspiration Award — an honor given to only three high schools in the country this year.

On April 30, Gaston Caperton enthusiastically presented a trophy to this deserving school at its Inspiration Awards Ceremony. Caperton was joined on stage by Donald L. Hense, chairman of Friendship Public Charter School; Victor  Reinoso, deputy mayor of education in the District of Columbia; Friendship Collegiate Principal Peggy Pendergrass; Arsallah Shairzay, director of the school’s AP program; and several Friendship students.  The ceremony was a true celebration of the school’s success and achievement in winning this coveted award, which recognizes the country’s most improved high schools. 

On the morning of the ceremony, Friendship Collegiate Academy T-shirts were distributed to all students and guests to wear for school spirit. On the back of each shirt was a long and impressive list of those students who had taken AP courses.

Friendship’s improvements in their AP program did not go unnoticed. It is the school’s goal to have every student take at least one AP Exam before graduating. This spring, the school will administer nearly 600 AP Exams, compared to only 62 in 2005. The staff and students take strong pride in this progress. The need to succeed and the eagerness to prepare for college resonate in the classrooms on Friendship Collegiate Academy’s Carter G. Woodson Campus.

Principal Peggy Pendergrass — the school’s fearless leader — is dedicated to creating a culture of learning. “You have to believe that all students can learn and be successful,” she said. “I am inspired every day when I wake up. This is an award for the students — they are doing
amazing work.”

One student in particular, senior Maya Foster, embodies the success of this award-winning school. Maya, who describes AP courses as being “on point,” is a teen mom who is currently struggling to decide where she will go to college next fall — the University of North Carolina or the University of Virginia — because both schools have accepted her.  Ask her about college? She says,
“Bring it on!”

Maya entered Friendship Collegiate Academy as a sophomore. She spent her freshman year in a big public school that lacked the support system and family-like atmosphere that Friendship has created. Maya admits that had she stayed at her previous high school and had a baby, she would probably be in a GED program. On the contrary, Maya scored a 4 on her AP Psychology Exam last year. “AP changes you as a student, and the teachers here will break their back and go out of their way to make sure you succeed,” she said.  “Education does not stop after school hours.” It is no surprise, then, that after Maya had her baby, staff members videotaped her classes so that she would not fall behind. They even babysat for her while she took exams. Such dedication to students is hard to come by, and Maya considers herself one of the lucky ones. 

VP Robert J. Alig

Closing the Achievement Gap: A School District Leadership Imperative

More than 270 superintendents and their leadership teams from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania came to Philadelphia May 16 to hear key district leaders from across the Eastern Seaboard share effective practices. They discussed organizational and instructional strategies that defy the obstacles to enabling all students to attain high levels of achievement and providing equitable access and support to those students traditionally left behind in our schools.

The Penn Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania, the Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium and the College Board Middle States Regional Office co-sponsored the one-day leadership symposium, entitled Closing the Achievement Gap: A School District Leadership Imperative, at the Hilton Philadelphia City Avenue.
 
Keynote presentations featured Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, and Carol Fixman, executive director of the Philadelphia Education Fund.

In its fourth year, the Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium is a tri-state collaborative — comprised of 25 regional school districts and two county intermediate units — that seeks to improve academic engagement and success for all students. 

The event was part of the College Board’s efforts to build stronger relationships with district superintendents and school districts while providing them with the solutions and support they need to send more students to college. "Our work needs to continue to focus on assisting school districts in building capacity to get all of their students connected to the highest level curriculum," said Consortium Co-Director Bob Jarvis.

The next event will take place in Baltimore, Feb. 9-10, 2009, as part of the preforum program activities of the Middle States Regional Forum, which will be held Feb. 11-13.

2007-08 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement national winner Ashutosh Singhal

Ashutosh Singhal, a senior from Holmdel High School in Holmdel, N.J., is one of two national winners of the 2007-08 Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement. Each national winner — one male, one female — receives a $5,000 scholarship. This year’s other national winner is Tianhui Cai from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Va.

These two national winners were selected above the 97 student winners (up to one female and one male in each state) who have been recognized for earning the greatest number of grades of 5 on at least two AP® Exams. One national teacher
winner — Penny Smeltzer, an AP Statistics teacher at Westwood High School in Austin, Texas — was selected as Siemens National AP Teacher of the Year and awarded $5,000 for her dedication to the AP Program — both inside and outside
the classroom.

Ashutosh will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, where he plans to study applied mathematics or biomedical engineering, a choice that was influenced by his experience in the AP Program. “I became interested in math and science through participating in activities that focused on these subjects in elementary and middle school,” said Ashutosh. “Biology is my favorite subject because of the broad scope of its application to my other interests, such as computer science, mathematics and engineering. Biological research can also allow a scientist to have a direct, positive impact on people’s lives.”

In addition to his mathematical and scientific interests, Ashutosh participates in varsity cross-country/track, his school newspaper, EMS volunteering and playing clarinet in the New Jersey State Youth Orchestra.

Each year, the Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement honor the top performing American high school students, teachers and high schools. Now in its 10th year, the Siemens Foundation, in partnership with the College Board, annually awards $2,000 scholarships to as many as 100 AP students in 50 states. The program also offers $1,000 awards to one AP math, science or technology teacher in each of the 50 states, and $1,000 grants to one high school in each state, for making significant strides in AP.

“We are proud to partner with the Siemens Foundation in honoring these students who have excelled in college-level study while still in high school. Our partnership extends to the committed teachers who are the heart and soul of the AP Program and to the high schools that have provided students the opportunity to reach this outstanding level of achievement,” said College Board President Gaston Caperton. “In a world of increasing global competition, it is essential that we develop the means to excel. The Siemens winners are setting an example for others throughout the country.”