Amgen Supports Expansion of NMSI’s Initiative for Military Families
DALLAS – The National Math and Science Initiative announced Monday that the Amgen Foundation is providing $15,000 to support the expansion of the Initiative for Military Families (IMF), which provides college-level courses in math, science and English for students from military families.
NMSI is bringing the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP) to schools serving a high concentration of students from military families through the IMF. Since 2010, the IMF has grown rapidly from four initial sites, two near Fort Campbell in Kentucky and two near Fort Hood in Texas, to a total of 29 high schools in 10 states.
The Amgen Foundation funds will be used to facilitate that expansion to additional sites. Commitments are in hand to expand the NMSI academic programs to 50 public schools serving military families.
“We are pleased that the Amgen Foundation is lending its support to this important mission,” said Dr. Mary Ann Rankin, President and CEO of NMSI. “APTIP is equipping our students from military families to compete on the global stage, which is essential to the future of our country.”
Dr. Rankin pointed out that research indicates that students passing AP courses in high school are three times more likely to complete a college degree. Further, AP students are among the few American students who compare favorably with their counterparts in other countries on internationally ranked math and science exams.
The APTIP already is producing results in IMF schools. In the first year, the AP math, science and English passing scores increased 45 percent - almost six times the national average. AP math and science passing scores increased 57 percent - over seven times the national average.
“The Amgen Foundation is proud to support the Initiative for Military Families through the National Math and Science Initiative,” said Jean Lim Terra, president of the Amgen Foundation. “By supporting the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP), we are helping to expand an effective program that increases the quality of math and science education at public schools serving military families.”
Almost two million young people in America have a parent serving in the military today. In 2011, more than 220,000 of those young people had at least one parent deployed overseas. The long separations, concerns about safety, and frequent transfers can be particularly hard on the children whose parents protect our country.
Because the Advanced Placement curriculum is uniform across the country, the NMSI program provides excellence and continuity for students whenever and wherever their families are transferred. While the IMF focus is on schools near military installations, all the students in the participating schools can benefit from the program.
Generous inaugural funding to launch the IMF program in 2010 was provided by Lockheed Martin Corporation. Major funding to add additional high schools is being provided by the Army Education Outreach Program, BAE Systems, The Boeing Company, the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the Office of Naval Research, and Northrop Grumman, with additional support from Modern Technology Solutions and the O’Donnell Foundation.
With additional funding, it is anticipated the Initiative for Military Families can be expanded eventually to 150 public high schools, ensuring that a very high percentage of military families will be served.
About the Amgen Foundation: The Amgen Foundation (www.amgen.com/citizenship/overview.html) seeks to advance science education; improve patient access to quality care; and strengthen the communities where Amgen staff members live and work. Since 1991, the Foundation has made more than $160 million in grants to local, regional, and national nonprofit organizations that impact society in inspiring and innovative ways. It has also supported disaster relief efforts both domestically and internationally.
About APTIP: APTIP dramatically increases the performance of high school students in rigorous AP courses in math, science and English. The comprehensive approach includes intensive teacher training, support from master teachers, increased time on task for students in special study sessions, open enrollment, and incentives for teachers and students. Passing AP exam scores are almost universally accepted for course credit by the nation’s colleges and universities, which see success in AP courses as reliable indicators of students’ subject-area knowledge and capacity for college-level thinking.
About NMSI: NMSI is an agent of change that was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education and science to improve student achievement in math and science across the American public school system. NMSI’s mission is to bring best practices to the education sector by replicating proven programs on a national scale that have more than 10 years of proven results. NMSI has received major funding support for its groundbreaking national initiatives from Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, with additional support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and Lockheed Martin Corporation.
Contact: Rena Pederson, NMSI communications director, at (214) 665-2523 rpederson@nationalmathandscience.org. For more information, visit www.nationalmathandscience.org.
*AP and Advanced Placement Program are registered trademarks of the College Board.
