By Ashley McCleery

The North Jefferson News



On Sept. 6, Gov. Bob Riley announced that Jefferson County schools would receive a multimillion dollar grant from the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to improve advanced placement (AP) programs in the county’s schools over the next six years.

Alabama is one of only seven states to qualify for this honor, and Jefferson County is one of two districts chosen in Alabama to receive the $13.2 million grant, which is funded by Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

The Jefferson County schools were chosen, along with the Montgomery County schools, because of their proven reputation at Shades Valley International Baccalaureate, their commitment to professional development and the number of high schools in the system which have AP courses already in place.

President of Jefferson County Board of Education Karen Smith Nix said she was overjoyed about this grant, which is the largest private grant on record for K-12 public education. “We have so much to be proud of,” Nix said. “And now we have another opportunity to serve our students by offering rigorous courses to better prepare them for college level-work.”

According to a recent press release, Riley said he looks forward to strengthening AP programs with the state’s partnership with NMSI, a new non-profit organization created to expand programs proven to boost math and science education.

“Expanding advanced placement programs is critical to providing a world-class education for our children and making sure they are prepared to succeed in today’s global economy,” Riley said.

Starting this year, the Jefferson County Board of Education will work with A+ College Ready, a program of A+ Education Foundation that helps increase student participation in AP courses and performance on AP exams in math, science and English.

With A+ College Ready, schools will work to improve AP courses through professional development and mentoring for teachers, identification of lead teachers, additional time for student learning and financial incentives based on academic results.

NMSI will also provide technical assistance to help the Jefferson County schools to successfully replicate a Texas model that has significantly increased the percentage of students scoring 3-5 on the AP exams.

“The results have been outstanding in Texas,” Nix said, “We’re going to use that program as a blue print so we can be just as successful.”

Nez Calhoun, director of public information for Jefferson County Board of Education, said she’s hopeful for the schools’ futures.

“We’re all very, very excited about this,” Calhoun said. “This program will help parents save money, and the students will never regret the knowledge they learned from the classes.”