"High Achieving Academy" coming to Henry

The school district has announced that Henry will begin using the College Board's Springboard program, beginning in September 2006, as part of the district's High Achieving Academy initiative. Among six HAA programs offered, Henry applied for Springboard based on input from its teachers, who felt this program is the best fit for Henry.

Springboard is a new product of the College Board - you know, the SAT folks. They designed Springboard for grades 6 - 12, to make sure students will be better prepared for participation in the Advanced Placement (AP) Program and for college success. One hope of the school is that Springboard will help slow the drain of upper school students moving to more "rigorous" schools for middle school, in preparation for getting into more rigorous high schools. (Although if you look at the high school attendance of Henry's graduating 8th graders, you'll see they get into all the top high schools in the city.)

In addition to infusing Springboard into Henry's middle school day, the district is also instituting Extended Day High Achievement Opportunities in all schools, beginning with the summer programs and rolling on through the school year. The extended day program will include one hour of "rigorous academic programs as well as an additional hour of enrichment programs," available to all students - not just "gifted" students.