The overall goal of this initiative is simple – to provide high school students with the tools needed to succeed in college. With a $1.6 million grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation and a generous donation from the AT&T Foundation, the Cowen Institute at Tulane University is piloting an Advanced Placement training and incentive program in several public high schools in New Orleans. This program will infuse these high schools with a new culture and direction based on improving post-secondary education awareness, preparedness, and success. It is premised on proven strategies using a philosophy of high expectations and incentives for performance. Research has shown that the main components of this initiative – providing at-risk students access to advanced placement courses, extensive professional development opportunities for school personnel, and performance-based financial incentives for students and teachers – drastically increase the number of students (especially minorities) who are prepared for and graduate from college.

Areas of Focus:

Launch of Advanced Placement courses in partner schools, including funding for textbooks, materials, and lab equipment for the courses [more info]
Extensive professional development and mentoring opportunities for principals, teachers, and school counselors [more info]
Support to students through prep sessions and after-school tutoring [more info]
Performance-based monetary incentives to students and teachers in order to strengthen participation
[more info]
High standards with accountability for results [more info]

Links:

Are you a Tulane student and want to learn more about the program? [more info]
Are you a Tulane student who would like to volunteer to be a mentor or tutor? [more info]
Are you a High School student and want to be a part of AdvanceNOLA? [more info]
Are you a Teacher or Administrator at a participating school? [more info]
List of Participating Schools and Partners [more info]
Results [more info]

In the Spring 2009 semester, the Cowen Institute launched Advanced Placement courses in three partner schools in the following five subjects: Chemistry, English Language and Composition, English Literature and Composition, Physics, and Statistics. We had 69 students enrolled in these courses.

In the Spring 2010 semester, we had 156 students enrolled in 11 AP courses in four partner schools.

To date, the Cowen Institute has spent over $200,000 on textbooks, supplies, and classroom/laboratory equipment in the program high schools. We have also secured additional funding for technology enhancements for the science and math labs. Graduate students from Tulane University have been hired to serve as course assistants, allowing teachers to focus on teaching, not lab preparation.

As part of this extensive program, school staff at several levels are receiving high level training from some of the best trainers in the country. We recognize that leadership development is key to the success of this program.

School Leader Training and Support
The Cowen Institute provides school leaders with the resources and training needed to change the culture in their schools to one that focuses on high expectations and college readiness. The leaders of our partner schools have demonstrated an ability to develop and sustain an educational environment that is rigorous and responsive to the needs of their students. All administrators attended training during the summer of 2009 that helped them prepare to build robust AP programs.

Teacher Training and Support
Teachers participating in the AdvanceNOLA program are expected to provide rigorous AP coursework, tutoring, and other support activities to achieve qualifying scores in math, science, and English. We have partnered with the College Board and the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to offer ongoing professional development and content mastery training opportunities. AP teachers have had many opportunities to attend training workshops and have received stipends for attending and participating in these trainings. Teachers report that the workshops they attend are both professionally and personally rewarding. Advanced Placement Summer Institute courses provide teachers with an overview of the curriculum, structure, and content of specific AP courses. Teachers focus on developing syllabi, learning teaching strategies, and relating course material to the AP exam.

The Cowen Institute has also hired mentor teachers to serve first year AP teachers. These mentor teachers visit New Orleans throughout the year to help teachers with their syllabi, pacing guides, and assessments; to observe; to model teaching practices; and to assist with Saturday test preparation sessions. The AdvanceNOLA mentor teachers are among the best AP teachers in the country, and they have all taught in schools with similar socioeconomic challenges to AdvanceNOLA’s.

School Counselor and Administrator Support
The role of the school counselors and AP Coordinators is pivotal to the success of the AdvanceNOLA program. They are responsible for increasing student participation and engagement with more rigorous curricular offerings and success in AP courses and exams. We offer a stipend of $1,000 to AP coordinators .

During the Spring semester, students from the participating schools attend prep sessions on Saturdays on Tulane’s campus. Students receive extra help with their coursework, go over AP exam questions, and practice problems. Students have been enthusiastic and eager to attend the training sessions. When asked if they are looking forward to giving up a Saturday for a training session at Tulane University, students boasted about how excited they were to be attending “college” that weekend. Rewards for attendance include lunch and visits around Tulane’s campus, including visits to the student recreation center, student residence facilities, and the mock stock market room inside Tulane’s A. B. Freeman School of Business. Future incentive plans include tickets to major New Orleans sporting events and area college field trips. Students also design class t-shirts to promote their participation in AP classes.

In addition to the stipends that are offered to teachers and school administrators to support the increased responsibilities associated with offering AP courses, the AdvanceNOLA program provides financial incentives to teachers for each qualifying score achieved by students in their eligible AP classes. Students are also eligible to receive these financial incentives.

In order to effectively and accurately compare students’ achievement across all schools and grades, we will continuously work to collect survey data for each school. In addition to this survey data, we are actively working with the Recovery School District and the individual schools to be able to track PSAT, ACT, SAT, and AP exam results.