Just visits Orlando for EXCELerator training.
by Vince Crespin
photo by Manny Perez
From February 20th to the 22nd, Sandra Just, Principal of Thomas Jefferson High School, attended training for the EXCELerator Grant in Orlando, Florida in order to help improve the school.
The purpose of the meeting was to bring the principals from all across the nation whose schools receive money from the EXCELerator Grant together, in order to talk about how things are going. The gathering is called the EXCELerator Principals Winter Leadership Colloquium and was aimed at three topics of conversation. One being the review of the PSAT scores. The grant allowed TJ students to take the examination, which is a practice test for the SAT, for free. The scores were broken down into regions, TJ being in the Western section, and the overall scores and progress of those regions were evaluated. The scores were also used to target kids with “AP Potential”, which means they tested particularly well in one or more core subjects on the PSAT. After this, letters were sent home to those kids in order to try to increase overall enrollment in AP classes.
“I feel the overall trip went well. I spoke with the other principals of the Accelerator Grant from within the DPS district (South, North and Lincoln) as well as other principals involved with the grant from around the nation. I felt it was very effective and helpful to talk about our different experiences with this grant,” said Just.
Among the many things at TJ impacted by the EXCELerator Grant, the most noticeable is the curriculum. “I’m appreciative because it gave us financial resources for new individual student materials, as well as providing the opportunity for us to attend institutes on new strategies for teaching,” said Jon Poole, one of the many teachers that have benefited from the EXCELerator Grant.
Other teachers feel it has benefited them as well. “It has expanded the AP program within the department with the addition of AP Language. The projects in the Springboard curriculum are fun for the students, and they feel they actually learn something,” said Literature Teacher Susan Stokley.
The money was donated by Bill Gates and was passed down to the College Board to distribute to schools that are interested in improving the overall performance of their students. The College Board then gives each one of the EXCELerator schools books for each core subject, for every student. The grant also funds Advanced Placement teacher training, as well as AVID program training for up to four teachers.
AVID Advisor Aimee Witulski is very appreciative of the EXCELerator Grant. “Up until last year I was unaware of what the Avid program is about. After attending the summer institute I was impressed with the program and excited to teach the class. If the students take advantage of it, it can be rewarding, and helpful on your way to higher education. Without the accelerator grant, we would have been unable to start the program at TJ,” said Witulski.
“The EXCELerator Grant has helped TJ out in numerous ways. It provided strong professional training for teachers, and gave us the money to conduct the AP Potential Program and assess the data. It also allowed us to bring in the AVID program which helps improve TJ and the community surrounding it,” said Just.
