To:

Members, Board of Education

From:

Terry B. Grier, Ed.D.

Date:

June 22, 2007

RE:

SpringBoard Agreement for Middle Schools

SpringBoard is a unique program designed around the rigorous CollegeBoard Standards for high school and college success.  By backward-mapping the competencies students should master from grade 12 down to grade six, SpringBoard enables our teachers to provide a systematic, seamless, and rigorous curriculum throughout middle school to better prepare them for high school and to increase the rigor of our middle school language arts and mathematics classrooms. The programs are designed to help prepare more students for AP and other rigorous high school classes and use a student-centered approach and exploratory, hands-on activities. Preliminary analysis in SpringBoard classrooms across the country show increased student engagement (more than 80 percent of students on-task and focused) and increased achievement.

Guilford County Schools (GCS) will train all middle school language arts and math teachers in SpringBoard. Teachers will attend face-to-face professional development to learn new pedagogical strategies for teaching mathematics and English language arts, and how to use SpringBoard's resources to their fullest. Teachers will also have year-round access to online mentors and a community of peers to share best practices and questions. GCS will provide curriculum coaches who will meet with teachers regularly to support SpringBoard in their classrooms. After teachers attend the professional development, they can use SpringBoard's instructional resources online or from their printed Teacher's Manuals. Each SpringBoard level includes several lessons with enough content to teach, test and re-teach if necessary. All instructional resources are aligned to the CollegeBoard Standards for College Success and North Carolina standards.

The attached agreement details the services to be provided by SpringBoard during the 2007-08 school year.

RECOMMENDATION: The administration recommends that the board approve and enter into the attached agreement with the CollegeBoard for the period of July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008, at a cost of $214,881 for SpringBoard subscription, services and materials.

Attachment - Agreement