A DVANCED P LACEMENT R OBBINSDALE A REA S CHOOLS

A BOUT R OBBINSDALE 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

A BOUT A RMSTRONG 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

M ORE A BOUT A RMSTRONG 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 AHS 17.9; National 17.8 ACT AHS 23.5; National 21.2

H ISTORY OF AP AT A RMSTRONG Historically, a counselor has served as the coordinator of the AP Program AP started at Armstrong approximately 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

G ROWTH OF AP N ATIONALLY 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%

AP AT A RMSTRONG 4 Pre-AP courses are offered at grades AP courses are offered at grades 10-12, taught by 21 teachers Course offerings are as follows: 9 th Grade 10 th Grade 11 th Grade12 th Grade Pre-AP English Pre-AP Physical Science Pre-AP World Geography Biology U.S. History Pre-AP English Environmental Science Chemistry Statistics Calculus AB and BC Music Theory English Language & Composition European History Human Geography Environmental Science Physics B & C Statistics Calculus AB and BC Music Theory English Literature & Composition Human Geography Economics Psychology US Government & Politics Spanish Language Spanish Literature

B ASELINE D ATA, 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.

B ASELINE D ATA, 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 were enrolled in an AP course And in only 30% of seniors received a qualifying score of 3 or higher on an AP exam

AP G RANT I NITIATIVES 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

R ECRUITMENT 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

S UPPORT 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

P ROFESSIONAL D EVELOPMENT 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

R ECENT D ATA Overall enrollment in Pre-AP and AP classes increased from 1446 students in to 1899 students in , an increase of 31% Enrollment will increase again in 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

L OOKING A HEAD, W HAT W E L EARNED 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

C ONTACT I NFORMATION Cathryn Peterson, AP Coordinator & English Teacher Erica Gullickson, AP & AVID Coordinator Ali McClellan, Counselor