The College Board Announces Expansion of EXCELerator™ Schools Project to Denver, CO, and Hillsborough County, FL (Tampa), School Districts

NEW YORK—The College Board today announced the expansion of its EXCELerator™ Schools project to include Denver and Hillsborough County, Florida, (Tampa area) school districts and several more schools in Chicago and Duval County, Florida (Jacksonville area). Sixteen public high schools in these four school districts will join 11 EXCELerator Schools already in operation throughout the country, implementing the system of College Board programs, tools, and support services designed to prepare more American high school students for postsecondary success.

The project, which complements the College Board’s first promising new school development efforts in New York, is part of an effort launched in 2006 through a $16 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Early indicators suggest that these schools are increasing the level of student aspirations and academic performance.

"The continued growth of the EXCELerator project will allow us to reach thousands of students in urban districts with a model that is designed to prepare them for advanced courses and fortify them with the skills they need to succeed in college," said College Board President Gaston Caperton. "The project's success to date is a testament to the outstanding work being done."

The College Board will partner with selected districts and schools to help improve graduation and college readiness rates—particularly for low-income and minority students—over the course of the next four years. With an emphasis on equity, the EXCELerator project supports high schools as they create a culture of high achievement and high expectations; promote a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum; increase access to that curriculum; and foster postsecondary aspirations in all students. By the end of the 2007-08 school year, more than 45,000 students will benefit from the EXCELerator project.

As large urban districts, Denver and Hillsborough County join Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Duval County in the struggle to overcome the nationwide “advantage gap” by ensuring that all students receive a high-quality education, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status. According to national and state data, graduation rates in these five districts lag behind or just meet the national average of 69.6 percent.

Many deserving urban school districts from across the country took part in the competitive application process to join these new EXCELerator Schools. Those selected demonstrated an urgent need to address the challenges facing underserved students, a strong commitment from district leaders, and the capacity and commitment to engage in a comprehensive reform model that aims to prepare all students for postsecondary success.

Launched last year in 11 high schools in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Duval County, Florida, EXCELerator is already making progress in its first year of implementation. In October, more than 11,000 students in participating schools took the PSAT/NMSQT^®, potentially expanding the roster of students to be identified through AP Potential^™ as likely to succeed in Advanced Placement Program^® (AP^®) courses. Guidance professionals in each school will be trained to use AP Potential data to recruit traditionally underrepresented students for enrollment in AP. In a parallel effort, school schedulers will receive direct assistance in designing master schedules to accommodate increased academic support for those students.

Last summer, teachers from all 11 schools attended AP Summer Institutes in preparation for an expansion of AP offerings next year.  Teachers and administrators also received intensive training in SpringBoard®, the College Board’s rigorous program in English Language Arts and Mathematics for grades 6–12. The same teachers then collaborated to build a rigorous common curriculum incorporating SpringBoard, and aligned both to state standards and to the College Board Standards for College Success^™. At the start of the 2006-07 school year, all schools were equipped with the materials and training required to implement this curriculum in the classroom.

It is expected that the following new EXCELerator Schools will mirror this success: