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State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. today announced that three local groups of school districts (headed by Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, Questar III BOCES and Jefferson Lewis BOCES) have been awarded grants under New York State鈥檚 virtual learning initiative, the Virtual Advanced Placement (VAP) Program, Round II.听 The grants, funded through New York鈥檚 federal Race to the Top funds, will enable students and teachers statewide to participate in Advanced Placement (AP) and pre-AP classes and exams.听 Three VAP Program grants worth a total of $2,412,095 will be distributed to more than 40 schools to develop online and blended courses.

"New York is a national leader in the use of technology to provide high quality, college level courses,鈥� King said.听 鈥淓very student deserves to be prepared for college and careers, not just those who live in districts that can afford to offer AP classes. These 10-month grants will also provide professional development for teachers.

鈥淎 good percentage of New York students take AP classes and tests.听 But low-income students don鈥檛 always get the chance to take AP courses.听 Those courses can be crucial for admission to and success in college.鈥�

There has been a steady increase in the number of New York public school students who benefit from the AP experience over the last 10 years.听 But King said there were still many districts that could not afford to offer AP courses, and the lack of resources and declining enrollment are sometimes forcing districts to disband their AP programs.

In November, 2012, in Round I of the VAP Program, $17.3 million was awarded to 17 local districts or consortia of districts.听 Since the January, 2013 launch, VAP Round I has begun the process of providing 15,000 students in more than 175 districts access to potentially 100 online and blended AP courses in more than 30 subjects 鈥� courses to which these students might not ordinarily have access.

The grants also can be used for other activities including: the purchase of needed technology resources to register and track student enrollment and performance on AP courses; computers for students to access the courses; and support for the cost of AP exams taken at the end of the course.

Final approval of the grants is subject to the review and approval of the Office of the State Comptroller.

Attached is a list of the districts and consortia receiving VAP Round II awards.

For a list of VAP Round I awards, please visit .

For more information on the VAP Program and other State Education Department programs funded through Race to the Top, please visit .

BOCES District Superintendents commented on receiving VAP Round II awards.

"To say that we are excited that our consortium of districts has been successful in securing a Virtual Advanced Placement grant would be an understatement,鈥� Stephen Todd, District Superintendent,Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida BOCES said.听 鈥淭his generous grant will be a game changer for the students of our region. Students in a number of our districts will have access to this level of advanced coursework for the first time. In other districts, the array of options for our students will be expanded. This grant will enable the 36 districts of our region to collaboratively develop a capacity to provide our students with the type of academic programming that has been lacking due to financial stress and the challenges of small rural enrollments. Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida BOCES and St. Lawrence-Lewis BOCES will partner in this endeavor. We are deeply grateful for this opportunity, and we are excited about beginning the implementation right away."

"This grant award supports the collaborative efforts of Questar III to spur greater innovation in education by expanding student engagement in on-line learning,鈥� James Baldwin, District Superintendent, Questar III BOCES said.听 鈥淭he funds will allow us to provide access to AP courses for qualifying students in the Catskill, Germantown, Greenville, Taconic Hills and Rensselaer school districts as well as at Tech Valley High School (a joint venture of Questar III and Capital Region BOCES).听 I am grateful for the enthusiastic participation of these school districts in this important effort.鈥�

鈥淲e are excited to build capacity within our districts to further expand opportunities for students who may not otherwise participate in AP courses,鈥� Jo Anne Antonacci, District Superintendent, Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES said.听 鈥淎 support structure will be put in place to assist parents and students in recognizing that college and career readiness is obtainable.鈥�

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