A Note from Western Region VP Al Mijares
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 VP Al Mijares |
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Attending the 29th Annual Summer Institute on College Admissions and School Relations are (from left) Eddie Arteaga, WRO higher education manager; Olympia Tuliaupupu from Westmont College; Alicia Orteaga from Oregon State; and Evan Engle from Westmont College. |
I want to welcome the newest member of our staff, Sue DeRuyter, who is our senior educational manager in Higher Education. Sue comes from a family of seven children, and even though neither of her parents went to college, they instilled the value of higher education in their kids. All seven have bachelor’s degrees, four have master’s degrees (Sue has a master’s in education administration from Loyola Marymount University) and two are doctors. Sue has more than 19 years’ experience in admission and college counseling and has served as president of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. We are pleased that she has chosen to continue her education journey with us.
This year marked the 29th Annual Summer Institute on College Admissions and School Relations. The Ned Tibby Award is an honor that has been bestowed every year since 1986 on an outstanding member of the Annual Summer Institute on College Admissions and School Relations. Tibby was a former school counselor, and the director of the College Board’s Denver Office, who mentored many in his profession with an abundant sense of humor and a kind, generous spirit. At this summer’s institute in San Diego, Westmont College admission counselor Olympia Tuliaupupu was selected as the Ned Tibby winner for her passion and her profound commitment to helping others. You can meet Tuliaupupu in February at the College Board’s Western Regional Forum in La Jolla, Calif., where she will conduct a session as part of the formal conference program.
The WRO Higher Education department has been busy delivering state agency reports to 11 states in our region. We recently implemented two new Recruitment PLUS™ users — Colorado State University will use it to enhance its enrollment efforts and the University of LaVerne, a longtime user of Recruitment PLUS at the undergraduate level, is now in the process of implementing Recruitment PLUS for its graduate programs.
WRO hosted the 25th Annual Counselor Summer Institute, held on the campus of the University of Southern California, for more than 80 counselors. The James Irvine Foundation provided assistance for several counselors from high-priority districts.
More than Twenty-nine districts and one state will be providing the PSAT/NMSQT® for all 10th-graders
this year, including the entire state of Oregon. Stockton Unified School District and Poway USD will be participating in the program for the first time this year. The University of Washington GEAR UP paid PSAT/NMSQT fees for several schools in that state. And the University of Alaska paid PSAT/NMSQT fees for Juneau, Ketchikan and Sitka sophomores.
We want to welcome to the WRO our new SpringBoard® Program Specialist, Stephanie Patterson. Two
districts in Wyoming have implemented English and math SpringBoard programs in grades 6 through 11. Laramie County Curriculum Superintendent Scott James said that he is very excited about the potential that the program holds for students and their learning. The Oakland (Calif.) Diocese adopted the SpringBoard curriculum for their middle school students this year. In other news, Amalia Cudeiro has become the new superintendent of the Bellevue (Wash.) School District, and Susan Enfield is the new chief academic officer for the Seattle Public Schools.
Arizona APIP Grant Nets Strong Results
In 2005, the Arizona Department of Education received one of only 13 Advanced Placement ® Incentive Program grants from the U.S. Department of Education. Nationally, the APIP grant is designed to promote the expansion of rigorous AP course work for all students, focusing special attention on the unique needs of underserved and low-income students. After three years, the results in Arizona have surpassed everyone’s expectations.
Under the strong Arizona DOE leadership team of Peter Laing, John Stollar and John Balentine, the
APIP grant for Arizona took an interesting approach to maximize the number of students who would benefit. All applicants were required to form a high school–middle school partnership, creating an effective sixth- through 12th-grade partnership. Eligible districts were required to have a public or charter high school–middle school team with a high concentration (40 percent or more) of low-income students (students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch).
Thirteen high schools and 14 feeder schools were selected from the following districts: Ajo, Bisbee, Buckeye, Casa Grande (two middle schools), Douglas, Holbrook, Indian Oasis-Baboquivari, Page, Phoenix Union, Tolleson, Tucson and Yuma (two teams). These districts received $10,000 awards each year for three years to create vertically aligned curricula, train teachers to increase rigor, implement more Pre-AP® and Advanced Placement Program ® (AP®) classes, and increase the number of low-income students participating in these classes and exams.
The dramatic increase in numbers of all students and low-income students participating in Pre-AP and AP courses, taking AP Exams and earning passing AP scores after just three years — 2005-06 through 2007-08 — at schools participating in APIP indicate that the program is working and benefitting all students and the future college and workforce readiness in the state of Arizona.
Over the three years of the APIP program, Pre-AP course offerings increased 177 percent, from just 66 courses in 2005-06 to 183 courses in 2007-08, and participation in these courses increased 237 percent overall. Low-income student participation in Pre-AP courses increased 243 percent, from just 379 students in 2005-06 to 1,301 students in 2007-08.
During this same period, AP course offerings at APIP schools increased 203 percent, from 31 AP courses
in 2005-06 to 94 courses in 2007-08. Overall, student AP participation increased 166 percent from 2005-06, and low-income participation increased 186 percent, from just 188 low-income students taking AP courses in 2005-06 to 538 in 2007-08.
The number of students at APIP schools electing to take AP Exams in 2008 increased 277 percent from 2006, and the number of low-income students taking exams jumped 360 percent, from 125 in 2006 to 575 in 2008. Passing scores, a score of 3 or better, surged as well. The number of students at APIP schools earning a passing score increased 199 percent between 2006 and 2008, and the number of low-income students earning a passing score rose from 37 in 2006 to 155 in 2008 — a whopping 319 percent after just three years of APIP.
Speaking about Arizona’s initiatives to increase rigor in schools, State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Horne said, “We have the Advanced Placement Program, where we tripled the number of kids from low economic groups taking the AP courses. We are doing a lot to get them to take a more rigorous curriculum, because it’s the rigor of the curriculum that will predict how students will do in college.”
The APIP districts certainly demonstrated what they knew all along: Given the opportunity and appropriate resources, larger and more diverse numbers of students enrolled in Arizona high schools and middle schools that serve high concentrations of low-income students can access, participate and succeed in Pre-AP and AP programs and exams and become high achievers in English, mathematics, science and other core subjects needed for their future and for the future of the state.
Upcoming Western Region
2009 Fall Counselor Workshops
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Each fall, thousands of educators come together at dozens of workshops across the country for the College Board’s Fall Counselor Workshops. This year, we have a new way for you to participate: |
LIVE – ON DEMAND –
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Check back often, live sessions are updated regularly. |
Attend a free workshop in your region.
Register online at www.collegeboard.com/meetings
| 9/22 | Claremont McKenna College, Claremont, Calif. |
| 9/29 | Mesa Community College, Mesa, Ariz. |
| 9/30 | University of Arizona, Tucson, Ariz. |
| 9/30 | Soka University, Aliso Viejo, Calif. |
| 9/30 | University of Redlands, Redlands, Calif. |
| 10/1 | University of Denver, Denver, Colo. |
| 10/2 | Truckee Meadows Community College, Reno, Nev. |
| 10/2 | Montana State University-Billings, Billings, Mont. |
| 10/6 | Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash. |
| 10/6 | Clark County School District, Las Vegas, Nev. |
| 10/6 | Westmont College, Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| 10/7 | Seattle University, Seattle, Wash. |
| 10/8 | St. Mary's College of California, Moraga, Calif. |
| 10/8 | Evergreen State College, Olympia, Calif. |
| 10/8 | Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, Calif. |
Events & Workshops
Click here to see events and workshops in the Western Region.
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During this pivotal time in our nation, the College Board invites you to join us for two special opportunities to connect with education professionals dedicated to impacting change and increasing college readiness.
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Western Regional Office |
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