Back-up not in agenda book - Seminole County Schools

Southern Regional Office T 770-225-4000 F 770-225-4062ww.collegeboard.com3700 Crestwood Parkway NW, Suite 700Duluth, GA 30096-7155May 1, 2011The Honorable Arne DuncanSecretary of EducationUS Department of Education400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.Washington, D.C. 20202Dear Mr. Secretary:The College Board fully supports Seminole County Public School’s Advanced PlacementIncentive Grant proposal sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The College Board haslong been an advocate for rigor and readiness to transform public education. It is certain thatSeminole County Public School’s proposal is positioned not only to help the district improve itsquality of teaching and students’ college and career readiness, but also to promote rigor andgraduate more low-socio-economic students with college credit due to its proposed growth in AP ®courses and tests.This project seeks to accomplish ambitious goals which include increased participation of lowincomestudents in pre-Advanced Placement and Advanced Placement courses; improved passrate of low-income students on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams; andthe cultivation of a cohort of educators well-qualified for identification and preparation of lowincomestudents for Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate programparticipation and success, with an end result of an improved rate of successful transition into postsecondaryeducation for low-income students by 2014.Seminole County Public Schools has been an active member of the College Board for over twentyyears. If the proposed project is awarded, the College Board will continue to support the districtwith increased professional development and district support for the already successful APprogram and, by extension, graduate more college and career ready students. Overall, the goalwill be to educate a total of 200 teachers and administrators across the different levels of theproject over the next three years, which will potentially increase the district’s AP programparticipation of low-income students.Other Attachments 49Page 53