Keynote speaker Lorraine Monroe of the Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute and the founding principal of the Frederick Douglass Academy

“Hopes and Dreams” were alive and well at the Sept. 29 welcoming ceremony for the Academy for Social Action, a College Board School in New York. The second annual event took place at City College’s Harlem Stage. College Board Schools are public schools for students in grades six to 12 that were developed as the result of a unique partnership with urban school districts and supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan
Dell Foundation.

The ASA opened last fall under the leadership of principal Crystal Simmons; it is the 10th College Board School and Manhattan’s first. Featuring a mixture of performances, multimedia
presentations and words of inspiration, the welcoming event encouraged students and staff to get excited about the 2008-09 school year. Hosted by Maurice DuBois of “CBS 2 News This Morning,” the event was an opportunity to showcase the school and its hardworking students to the surrounding community.

The ceremony was kicked off by a video message from New York Gov. David A. Paterson congratulating students on a successful first year and wishing them the best for the future.

Keynote speaker Lorraine Monroe received a standing ovation after she spoke to the students and staff about the importance of education. Monroe, founder of the Lorraine Monroe Leadership Institute, was the founding principal of the renowned Frederick Douglass Academy in Central Harlem and is on extended leave from Bank Street College of Education, where she taught graduate courses and founded and directed the Center for Minority Achievement.

ASA students entertained the audience with music and photography and reflected on the progress they made in just one year, many attributing their newfound focus on and confidence in their studies to the help they received at ASA.

Helen Santiago, executive director of New Small Schools, named Deanna Capers as the winner of the College Board Schools’ SAT® Hip-Hop Contest. In an impressive performance, Capers moved across the stage rapping about Charles Darwin and evolution.

Interim VP Bob Alig

The Middles States Regional Council held its fall meeting Oct. 6-7, gathering at the College Board’s New York Office at 45 Columbus for the first time in many years. This was the first visit to this office for many of the council members, and it provided a great opportunity for these regional leaders to meet College Board leaders. The meeting agenda, led by council Chairman Jay Tucker, included remarks from College Board President Gaston Caperton; Herb Elish, COO; Eric Cantor, senior vice president for region and account services; and Dorothy Sexton, vice president of governance, who were all on hand to share ideas with our council members.

Additionally, the regional council discussed plans for the 2009 Middle States Regional Forum, which will be held Feb. 10-12 at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore. The regional forum promises a full menu of speakers and workshops representing the interests of all who work for or in K-12 or higher education. Make your plans early to attend. Click here for online registration.

A leadership summit has been set for Thursday, May 14, 2009, at the Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel in Philadelphia, Pa. Details will be available in the coming weeks on our Web site. For more details on the summit, e-mail Alison Dufner or Ellen Tatalias.

Our Fall Counselor Workshops have been very successful. This is the first year that we’ll be offering these valuable workshops year-round to accommodate counselors who are too busy in the fall and ensure that they still obtain this valuable information. For more information about the Middle States Fall Counselor Workshops, click here to download the brochure, or e-mail Alison Dufner for the spring schedule of dates and locations.

Finally, I want to say how grateful we all are for our teachers and all they do to help prepare our students for college. The following are but a few of the outstanding teachers from the Middles States Region that I would like to recognize for their strong efforts in their respective states:

Rebecca Snyder, a language arts teacher at Greater Latrobe (Pa.) Senior High School, who was named Pennsylvania's 2009 Teacher of the Year.

William Thomas, an Advanced Placement® Government teacher at Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr. High School in Prince George’s County (Md.), who was named the 2009 Maryland Teacher of the Year.

Vickie Mike, a high school language teacher at Horseheads (N.Y.) High School, who was selected as the 2009 New York State Teacher of the Year.

Advanced Placement® Incentive Program Grants have been awarded to one state and two local educational agencies in the Middle States Region to facilitate their continued efforts to increase the participation of low-income students in both AP® courses and exams and pre-AP courses. The three recipients — Maryland State Department of Education, Rochester (N.Y.) City School District and Yonkers (N.Y.) Public Schools — received grants from the U.S. Department of Education that will be used to support the development, enhancement or expansion of AP courses, including pre-AP courses in mathematics, science, English and other subject areas.

The DOE selects grant recipients from school districts, state and local educational agencies or national nonprofit educational entities with expertise in providing Advanced Placement services. The competitive three-year awards must be used to expand access for low-income individuals to Advanced Placement programs. Some of the options provided for by these grants include teacher training, development of pre-AP courses, coordination and articulation between grade levels to prepare students for academic achievement in Advanced Placement classes, books and supplies, and participation in online Advanced Placement courses.

Maryland’s Department of Education has established Project 3+3, which will assist nine high-poverty high schools and 21 middle schools in developing a comprehensive, systemic approach for increasing access, acceleration and achievement in pre-AP courses and AP courses and exams. Increasing AP course offerings in the target schools, providing high-quality professional development and implementing student recruitment and outreach strategies will offer low-income students greater access to AP. Online AP courses from the Maryland Virtual School catalog will enable schools to offer additional AP courses immediately, while professional learning communities for teachers, counselors and principals will help expand high-quality AP course offerings on-site. Students also will have access to the study of Chinese through the College Board’s Chinese Language and Culture Initiatives and new MVS Chinese language online courses. Project 3+3 schools will also offer advanced courses through summer academic bridge programs in grades nine through 11 that are articulated with AP courses and exams. To support and motivate students, schools will develop Young Scholars student learning communities, which will provide students with an opportunity to build relationships with like-minded peers. AP teacher specialists will serve as professional development coaches who introduce new teaching strategies and train teachers to use them, while developing Vertical Teams of teachers in English language arts, mathematics and science in each school.

Rochester City School District has set an ambitious goal of increasing student enrollment in AP courses by 45 percent over the three-year project period and ensuring that 80 percent of these students successfully complete the courses. The project will target the district’s 14 neediest secondary schools, many of which now offer few or no AP courses. Each of these schools will develop and offer at least one new AP course in English language arts, mathematics and science in each year of the project. Three other high-poverty secondary schools will introduce AP Chinese Language and Culture courses. AP teachers will receive intensive professional development in their content areas through four-day institutes that will be held each summer. Four-day summer readiness workshops will prepare students for their upcoming pre-AP and AP courses. Students enrolled in AP courses will complete an AP Skills Seminar that will help them improve their writing, develop good study habits and learn note-taking, critical thinking and time-management skills. Tutoring will be offered for AP mathematics and science students. Vertical Teams will be established to align curricula and improve the preparation of students for advanced courses in the upper grades. To help students plan and prepare for high school and postsecondary education, the CollegeEd® academic and career planning curriculum will be introduced in the eighth grade. Using its own funds, the district also will implement Advancement via Individual Determination programs and the SpringBoard® English/Language Arts curriculum in all secondary schools.

Yonkers Public Schools will implement a set of programs and initiatives to increase student enrollment and achievement in AP and International Baccalaureate courses. The project will serve students enrolled in grades six through 12 at 17 high-poverty schools, including six high schools, three middle schools and eight pre-K through eighth-grade schools. New AP and IB courses in English language arts, mathematics and science will be offered at the high schools. Two of the high schools also will add AP Chinese Language and Culture courses. Using the College Board’s CollegeEd curriculum, a trained adviser will work with 15-20 students throughout their years at that school to provide them with guidance, academic support and assistance in planning and preparing for postsecondary education and careers. To improve students’ preparation for AP and IB courses, the SpringBoard English/Language Arts and Mathematics curricula will be implemented in grades six through 12. Individual and small group tutoring will be offered for students outside of school, and an SAT® preparation program will be available to help students who recently exited English language learner classes prepare for the writing section.

Click here to see events and workshops in the Middle States region.