Eight MA schools join Mass Insight AP STEM & English Core Program as 11th Cohort

Boston – Sept. – Eight Massachusetts schools are heading into the new 2018-2019 school year with a new partnership and goals to increase rigor and academic opportunity for their students. The partnership is with Mass Insight Education & Research, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to accelerating student learning and closing achievement gaps, and the increased rigor comes in the form of expanded Advanced Placement® course offerings and a push for more students, particularly undeserved students, to take them.

Mass Insight’s AP STEM & English program was launched in 2007 and now partners with more than 75 high schools each year, serving over 10,000 students and over 600 teachers across Massachusetts. The program offers extensive training for AP and Pre-AP teachers, additional time on task for students through Saturday Study Sessions, and additional resources for schools. In 2016 and 2017, in large part due to Mass Insight’s work, Massachusetts led the nation in the percentage of seniors earning a qualifying score on an AP exam. Mass Insight’s AP STEM and English program is supported by $2.5 million in state funding overseen by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, school administrative fees, and private funding. “This program is a successful public-private partnership that is closing the achievement gap and helping more students succeed in college,” said Mass Insight’s President & CEO Dr. Susan F. Lusi. “We are proud to work with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary education and dozens of statewide sponsors to help more high school students achieve in rigorous college-level courses.

Going into the 11th year of the Mass Insight AP STEM & English program, this year’s new cohort of first-year schools includes:

• East Boston High School in East Boston
• Excel High School in South Boston
• Jeremiah E. Burke High School in Dorchester
• Paulo Freire Social Justice Charter School in Holyoke
• Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School in Northampton
• Southbridge High School in Southbridge
• Southeastern Regional Vocational Technical High School in South Easton
• Woburn High School in Woburn

Advanced Placement courses offer students the chance to earn college credit while still in high school and expose them to college-level coursework, preparing them for college and career success.

“We are thrilled to welcome the new schools into our Core program,” said Sally Guadagno, Director of the AP STEM and English program at Mass Insight. “Every school that expands its AP coursework leads to more students experiencing college-level academics and instilling confidence in their potential.”