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Advanced Placement Robbinsdale Area Schools

Advanced Placement Robbinsdale Area Schools. About Robbinsdale. Robbinsdale Area Schools serves all or parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale Total district enrollment is approximately 12,700 students

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Advanced Placement Robbinsdale Area Schools

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  1. Advanced PlacementRobbinsdale Area Schools

  2. About Robbinsdale • Robbinsdale Area Schools serves all or parts of Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Golden Valley, New Hope, Plymouth and Robbinsdale • Total district enrollment is approximately 12,700 students • Robbinsdale is home to two high schools, Armstrong and Cooper, which together serve about 4200 students • Armstrong offers Advanced Placement (AP) • Cooper offers International Baccalaureate (IB) and Middle Years Program (MYP) • Armstrong HS and Plymouth MS received a grant from Minnesota Department of Education to raise student achievement by increasing both participation in AP and the total number of students receiving a score of 3+ on AP exams

  3. About Armstrong • Armstrong has approximately 2130 students in grades 9-12 • Student demographics are as follows: • American Indian – 1% • Asian or Pacific Islander – 5.4% • Hispanic – 6.5% • Black, not Hispanic – 18.4% • White, not Hispanic – 68.7% • Total non-White population – 31.3% • 22% of students receive free or reduced price lunch • Four counselors are assigned to students alphabetically

  4. More About Armstrong • Educational Plans – Graduates of 2008: • Four year college 76% • Two year college 16% • Other education 8% • College Placement Testing Numbers below are mean composite scores • PLAN - 2007 • AHS 17.9; National 17.8 • ACT - 2008 • AHS 23.5; National 21.2

  5. History of AP at Armstrong • Historically, a counselor has served as the coordinator of the AP Program • AP started at Armstrong approximately 15-20 years ago • An application process was in place for many AP courses, and each department determined its own process for application • For example, the application for AP United States History included a written prompt, application form, two teacher recommendations and a check of grades/class performance

  6. Growth of AP Nationally • Total number of students taking AP exams increased by 15.6% in 2007 • The number of African-American students taking exams increased by 42% • The number of Latino students taking exams increased by 23% • The number of Native-American students taking exams increased by 19%

  7. AP at Armstrong • 4 Pre-AP courses are offered at grades 9-10 • 17 AP courses are offered at grades 10-12, taught by 21 teachers • Course offerings are as follows:

  8. Baseline Data, 2005-06 • While the AP Program served many students, the demographics of students enrolled in Pre-AP/AP courses did not reflect the demographics of AHS • At AHS, 13% of students enrolled in AP courses were students of color, while 31% of all students enrolled at AHS were students of color • The gap was greatest for African American students. The total African American enrollment at AHS was 17%, compared to only 4% enrolled in AP courses • The number of low-income students enrolled in pre-AP/AP courses is harder to measure, as not all who qualify for free and reduced lunch (FRL) applied for FRL. • 25% of students at AHS received FRL, compared to 5% enrolled in AP courses.

  9. Baseline Data, 2005-06 • One of the greatest predictors of college success is the participation in AP courses • At the time, 65% of AHS students continued their post-secondary education at a four-year college or university • However, only 35% of seniors in 2005-2006 were enrolled in an AP course • And in 2006-2007 only 30% of seniors received a qualifying score of 3 or higher on an AP exam

  10. AP Grant Initiatives • Goal 1: Increase student academic achievement through access to and the expansion of Pre-AP and AP courses and enrollment, including low-income and students of color enrollment • Goal 2. Ensure that students are prepared to handle the rigor of AP courses and earn college credit or advanced placement on the AP exams especially in English, math, and science • Goal 3: Increase the number of teachers with AP, Pre-AP, and AVID training that participate in vertical teaming which will equip them to prepare more students for the rigor of AP courses

  11. Recruitment • Information sessions held at each middle school • Information presented to students at grade-level registration meetings • AP Information Night held for students and parents, with special invitations given to underrepresented students who have never taken AP • Targeted recruitment of underrepresented students identified by teachers as potential AP students

  12. Support • Hand-scheduling of underrepresented students • The AP Coordinators offered support to struggling students and conferenced with any student wishing to drop an AP course • The AP library was expanded and updated with review and support materials available for student check-out • Regular after school help sessions were offered for the following courses: AP United State History, AP Biology, AP Language & Composition, AP Chemistry, and AP Calculus • AP teachers offered test prep review sessions • Pre-AP and AP teachers, along with former AP students, were available to help students at the after-school Extended Learning Time (ELT) program • AP Summer Prep enrichment classes were offered in 2008 and are being offered in 2009 to prepare students for the rigors of AP

  13. Professional Development • Over 50% of all core content area teachers from both Armstrong HS and Plymouth MS participated in vertical teaming in the past two years • About 20 teachers and faculty participated in AVID Path training • Many have also worked both vertically and horizontally with colleagues to implement Pre-AP, AP and/or AVID strategies into curriculum • Professional development at Armstrong has focused heavily on AVID strategies the past two years

  14. Recent Data • Overall enrollment in Pre-AP and AP classes increased from 1446 students in 2007-08 to 1899 students in 2008-09, an increase of 31% • Enrollment will increase again in 2009-10 • The number of AP exams taken has increased as follows: • In 1999, 429 AP exams were administered • In 2008, 878 exams were given, an increase of 13% over 2007 • In 2009, over 1000 exams were given, an increase of 12% over 2008 • See charts in packet for enrollment figures by course

  15. Looking Ahead, What We Learned • Change takes time and initiatives must be sustainable • Achieving and sustaining the goals of the grant involves changing teacher/student attitudes and beliefs. • Teachers need to provide varied opportunities for students to demonstrate learning • High expectations and rigorous curriculum must be maintained • Students need to see themselves as the reason for their individual success • Students need to feel safe, supported, and successful • Time must be spent building community so all students feel valued in the classroom • Student learning and growth is more important than test scores • Student word of mouth and personal testimonials help to grow the program

  16. Contact Information • Cathryn Peterson, AP Coordinator & English Teacher • 763-504-8887 • cathryn_peterson@rdale.org • Erica Gullickson, AP & AVID Coordinator • 763-504-8784 • erica_gullickson@rdale.org • Ali McClellan, Counselor • 763-504-8825 • ali_mcclellan@rdale.org

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