AdvanceNOLA Celebrates Its Success

On a chilly December evening, over forty public high school teachers, administrators, and leaders celebrated the end of an impressive semester. AdvanceNOLA, the Cowen Institute’s college readiness program, has grown each year since its inception in the Spring of 2009, and the success is contagious. Under the innovative leadership of Emily Remington, the Cowen Institute’s Assistant Director of Programming, AdvanceNOLA currently works with over 600 public high school students and over 30 public high school professionals.  To celebrate the tremendous progress of the past semester and to discuss the work ahead, AdvanceNOLA hosted a fun and informative evening with the talented individuals that work every day to positively impact the lives of students.

In the warm restaurant glow, a beautiful networking opportunity emerged as teachers sat at tables according to the Advanced Placement courses they taught.  Animated discussions ensued, as clever professionals spoke about the most engaging science experiments for students and where some of the best field trips took place for project-based learning experiences.  For those of us that are not teachers, we were awe-struck by the enthusiasm and dedication of such an impressive cadre of instructors.

Between entrée courses and dessert, each school shared presentations, describing how AdvanceNOLA helped them prepare more students for success in college. It was inspiring to learn from the Cowen Scholars, school administrators, and teachers about the improvements the AdvanceNOLA partnership enabled. Each school highlighted successes and challenges; for example, all of them saw their AP student enrollments skyrocket, but still wish students better understood the challenging college application process. Their students regularly express the desire to attend college, but are often tripped up by the process or do not have the ACT scores necessary to earn scholarships or place them out of remedial courses.

Amazing stories of success were acknowledged and the unity of head nods by fellow colleagues reinforced the simple fact that everyone in the room believes their students can succeed. The joy and motivation in the room was palpable – our teachers, our schools, and our leaders are doing wonderful things in the classrooms.  New Orleans high school students are reaping the rewards of not only their own hard work, but also the hard work of adults that prepare challenging lessons and believe every child deserves the best education possible.

AdvanceNOLA is increasing institutional and teacher capacity to teach college-level courses in public schools, while also building a strong network of professionals.  Today 600 high school students are part of the initiative, with a trajectory of reaching over 1,000 students in the very near future.  Congratulations AdvanceNOLA, Cowen Scholars, teachers, and administrators.  Your great effort is paying off!