Colorado Legacy Schools Advanced Placement Initiative Expands to New Schools

DENVER – Today the Colorado Legacy Foundation (CLF) announced the expansion of the Colorado Legacy Schools Advanced Placement Initiative to three additional high schools: Fountain-Fort Carson High School, Mesa Ridge High School and Widefield High School.

Colorado Legacy Schools is part of the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP) and focuses on increasing college readiness for all Colorado students. With CLF’s support, the three new schools expect participation in the program to increase AP achievement by over 200 percent by July 2012. The initial Colorado Legacy Schools achieved a 47 percent increase in qualifying scores on AP exams from the 2009-2010 school year.

“The results show the program works because it brings about a cultural change in schools that results in significant student achievement and challenges our assumptions about which students benefit from advanced classes,” said Dr. Helayne Jones, President and CEO of the Colorado Legacy Foundation. “We are excited to expand the program and give more students the opportunity to participate in this proven program.”

Nationally, this initiative has proven highly effective at increasing student success with AP content and exams. Recently, NMSI reported that schools participating in the AP program over the last three years have recorded triple-digit increases in the number of qualifying scores. Funding for the initiative is sponsored by NMSI and the Department of Defense Education Activity following the national expansion of APTIP to high schools that serve military families launched by the White House last April.