Cumberland County Takes the Lead in North Carolina to Provide Rigorous Education for Students

DALLAS, June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) announced today that its comprehensive Advanced Placement* (AP) program for military families is being expanded this fall to Jack Britt High School near Fort Bragg, thanks to a $838,656 grant from the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA).

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"The innovative NMSI program serving military families in the U.S. can open doors to college for more students by providing them with rigorous, project-based coursework to help them succeed in the competitive fields of science, technology, engineering, and math," said Sara Martinez Tucker, CEO of NMSI.  "The partnership with these high schools will help provide continuity and excellence to help make a huge impact on young students' lives."

A special event was held today at E. E. Smith High School to announce the expansion of NMSI's Comprehensive AP program at Jack Britt High School and the continuation of the program in its third year at E. E. Smith High School. The NMSI program will dramatically increase the number of students taking and passing AP tests in math, science, and English.  "NMSI's AP program will help prepare more students to be successful on the Advanced Placement tests," said Dr. Frank Till, superintendent of the Cumberland County Schools.  Enrollment at Jack Britt High School is expected to increase by 65 percent in math, science, and English AP courses, and qualifying scores in these courses are expected to increase by 98 percent over the life of the grant.   

DoDEA has awarded nearly $17 million total in grant funds to NMSI for its AP program supporting military families.  "The expansion of this program for students attending Jack Britt High School and E.E. Smith High School opens a new level of opportunity and possibility for children of military families and their peers to excel in math and science," said Adrian B. Talley, DoDEA's Deputy Director.   "This investment in the AP program is truly transformational and innovative and raises the bar academically in our public schools.  The results are proven, consistent, and speak for themselves – in the schools that have been supported by DoDEA's NMSI AP grant funds, students have increased the number of qualifying AP scores by more than 60 percent."

About National Math and Science Initiative: NMSI, a non-profit organization, was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to transform education in the United States. NMSI has received national recognition for training K-12 teachers and improving student performance through rapid expansion of these highly successful programs: NMSI's Comprehensive AP program, NMSI's Teacher Training program, and UT Austin's UTeach program. NMSI's Comprehensive AP program dramatically increases the number of students taking and passing AP math, science, and English exams, and expands access to traditionally underrepresented students and students in military families. NMSI's Teacher Training program has trained over 60,000 teachers to deliver more rigorous lessons in the classroom and was selected by the PARCC as a premier partner to deliver common core teacher training. The UTeach program, which is now in 35 universities in 17 states, will produce a new generation of content-trained teachers that will impact millions of students in the next decade. Inaugural funding for NMSI, was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. For more information, please visit www.nms.org.

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board.

Media Contact:  Mary Ortiz, 214-346-1245, [email protected]­­­­

SOURCE National Math and Science Initiative