For Immediate Release

UFT President Randi Weingarten on student cash awards for AP scores

Oct 16, 2007 12:56 PM

The city launched on Oct. 15 a privately funded Rewarding Achievement Program that will offer cash awards to 25 public high schools and their students for doing well on Advanced Placement tests ($1,000 to students for an AP score of 5, $750 for a 4 and $500 for a 3, and up to $100,000 for participating schools).

UFT President Randi Weingarten statement:

"While this privately-funded program will provide assistance to students in 25 schools, the city needs to increase its commitment to Advanced Placement and other college-prep coursework in all of the City's middle and high schools.

AP classes provide high school students with important opportunities to pursue rigorous courses of study that can result in college credits at a minimal cost. Unfortunately, there are far too few AP courses in New York City public high schools, and those that do exist are concentrated within a much-too-small number of high schools.

We need to expand AP opportunities for our high school students, especially in schools serving high needs communities. We need to provide schools, teachers and students with the needed support to start and expand these programs -- the funds to schedule the extra AP classes, to purchase expensive college textbooks and to pay the exam fees for low income students, and the professional development for teachers to design and execute college courses."