During the 2020-2021 school year, A+ College Ready, in partnership with the Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE), will be piloting a new program focused solely on middle school teachers and students. In its inaugural year, this program will serve seven middle schools from across the state with the goal of increasing rigor in the classroom and improving student achievement.
The Middle School Training and Incentive Program is modeled after A+ College Ready’s Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program that has dramatically increased student access to and success in Advanced Placement math, science, English, social studies and computer science in Alabama in the past decade. The middle school program equips, empowers, and expects more for Alabama teachers and students, including teacher and administrator training and support, equipment/materials/supplies, and teacher, leader, and student incentives based upon student achievement and growth as measured by the PSAT 8/9 exam.
The goal of the Middle School Pilot is to increase access to A+ College Ready’s proven E3 (Equip, Empower, Expect More) program to middle schools that would not have been able to participate previously as they do not feed into a high school participating in the AP training program. By expanding access to these tried-and-true resources, both A+ College Ready and the ALSDE aim to improve outcomes for more middle school students.
“Every year it is a joy to welcome new schools into the A+ College Ready family,” said Tammy Dunn, Vice President for Academic Affairs, A+ College Ready. “This year, we are even more excited to be expanding our work in middle schools. We look forward to what can be accomplished for Alabama students as a result of these new partnerships.”
The Alabama State Department of Education has partnered with A+ College Ready for more than 12 years to offer these programs to high schools and their feeder middle schools across the state. The ALSDE credits this partnership for helping thousands of Alabama students become college and career ready.
“I am extremely pleased with our inclusion in the Middle School Training and Incentive Program. As a former high school principal in another school system, I have been a part of the original A+ College Ready program and witnessed first hand the benefits: quality teacher training, expanded AP course options, in-depth study sessions as well as increases in qualifying AP scores and number of students in AP courses,” said Jose Reyes, Superintendent of Scottsboro City Schools. “Our inclusion in the Middle School Program will strengthen our AP program in high school. We are ready to enhance our academic program and the Middle School Training and Incentive Program will play a huge part in the process.”
Teachers will begin training during the summer of 2020 and the entire pilot program will be implemented beginning in Fall 2020.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM:
The following seven schools are participating in the pilot year. The first cohort represents geographic and racial diversity, with an average percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch of 57%:
Brookwood Middle School (Tuscaloosa County)
Carbon Hill Elementary (Walker County)
Orange Beach Middle School (Baldwin County)
Scottsboro Junior High School (Scottsboro City)
Berry High School (Fayette County)
Chickasaw Middle School (Chickasaw City)
Pisgah School (Jackson County)
The ALSDE / A+ College Ready Program provides extensive training and support for teachers and students in middle school. For teachers this includes:
- Weeklong summer training institutes
- Additional days of professional development throughout the year
- Ongoing support and coaching from expert Content Directors
- Financial stipends based on academic results
- Funding for equipment infrastructure to implement rigorous courses in grades 6-8
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