NEW YORK (TIP): Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña has announced that this fall, 63 high schools will offer new Advanced Placement courses, including 35 that offered no AP courses during the 2015-16 school year. The expansion comes in the first full year of the AP for All Initiative, one of the eight initiatives in Mayor de Blasio‘s Equity and Excellence agenda. The goal of AP for All is to increase college readiness among New York City students; research has shown that the rigor of these courses and exams better prepare students for college. Through AP for All, 75 percent of high school students will have access to at least five AP classes by fall 2018 and all high school students will have access by fall 2021. The initiative will cost $51 million annually when fully scaled in fall 2021, and about $21 million for the 2016-17 school year.

The 63 selected high schools currently offer few or no AP courses and have demonstrated readiness to begin offering additional AP coursework. They include 20 high schools in the Bronx, 22 in Brooklyn, 15 in Manhattan, and six in Queens. Among the 63 high schools, 39 schools across 12 high school campuses will utilize a “campus model,” sharing courses with co-located schools to provide increased opportunity across the school building. In 2016-17, the 63 high schools will offer 118 additional AP courses, including 52 in STEM subjects.

“AP for All is going to expand rigorous, challenging coursework at all of our high schools, and the first expansion to 63 high schools represents exciting progress,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “This is a critical part of our work towards equity and excellence for all New York City public school students, across all our neighborhoods and boroughs.”

“AP for All is a critical part of bringing equity and excellence to all our high schools, and this expansion will make a real difference for students at 63 schools next year,” said Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña. “Through our Equity and Excellence agenda, we are laser-focused on putting all our students on the path to college and careers, and I look forward to the work ahead of us.”

Administrators and teachers from the selected high schools will receive rigorous, subject-specific professional development this spring and summer, including an AP Summer Institute, and ongoing workshops and support provided by the DOE and external partners throughout the 2016-17 school year. Additionally, 750 students from these high schools have been invited to participate in a new two-week summer enrichment session to prepare them for greater success in new AP courses. AP for All students will also receive support throughout the school year, including weekend study sessions providing up to an additional 20 hours of learning, review, and opportunities to take practice AP exams.

As part of AP for All, the DOE has also identified over 100 schools for pre-AP support starting this spring and continuing through the 2016-17 school year. These high schools offer few or no AP courses, and also need additional support to strengthen student and teacher readiness. The pre-AP support will focus on strengthening student instruction across high schools, and identifying and providing professional development to potential AP teachers for the 2017-18 school year and beyond.