A+CR & Schools Foundation Granted $100,000

The Jane K. Lowe Charitable Foundation trustees awarded $100,000 to A+ College Ready through The Schools Foundation in Huntsville. This grant will help A+ increase the participation and performance of high school students in advanced placement (AP) courses through its Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP).

Tim Singleton, board chair of the Schools Foundation, said in a news release, “With the support of the Jane K. Lowe Foundation, remarkable academic gains in these schools will be sustained over time.  We are preparing our students for the rigors of college-level classes which sets them on a path to be successful in the college of their choice.

"We greatly appreciate the support of the Jane K. Lowe Foundation and look forward to reporting to the community the continued positive impact of A+ College Ready.”

According to a Huntsville Times article, The Schools Foundation reported a 140 percent increase in qualifying AP scores among the schools participating in the A+ program over two years (2009-11). Also, it witnessed a 228 percent increase in one year with the two schools that were added to the A+ program in 2011.

"This grant puts us very close to our overall goal to fully fund the program for participating schools," said Mary Boehm, president of A+ College Ready, a division of A+ Education Partnership. "It's very exciting to have such strong support enabling us to expand our reach to more Alabama students."

A+ College Ready's APTIP was designed to increase student participation and performance in advanced placement courses, better preparing them for college and careers. The program contains four main elements; teacher support, student support, program management and awards for students and teachers. Click here for a full description of APTIP.

Out of the 64 schools currently in APTIP statewide, 10 of them are in Madison County, which is generally the area of grant consideration by the Jane K. Lowe Foundation.