National Math and Science Initiative Awards $388,507 Grant to Expand AP program in Mississippi

DALLAS, May 13, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), a non-profit organization launched in 2007 to transform math and science education in the United States, announced today that its highly successful Advanced Placement* (AP) program for military families is being expanded this fall to Biloxi High School near Kessler Air Force Base, thanks to a grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR).

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130131/DC51970LOGO-b )

"This innovative program will provide military families with consistent, exceptional math, science, and English education," said Sara Martinez Tucker, CEO of NMSI. 

A special event was held today at Biloxi High School to announce the expansion of the NMSI program in fall 2013. Enrollment in math, science, and English AP courses for Biloxi High School is expected to increase by 74 percent.

"Biloxi Public Schools is thrilled to be in partnership with NMSI and to be able to offer the rigorous, project-based coursework and exciting academic opportunities that correspond with teaming with such a prestigious organization," said Karen Norwood, Assistant Superintendent, Biloxi Public Schools.  "We look forward to the experiences that our students and teachers will gain from the program as we expand our current AP program and offer more AP classes in the areas of math, science and English Language Arts.  Biloxi is committed to doing everything we can to tap into student's interests and passion for science, technology, engineering, English language arts and mathematics to ensure a strong future for Biloxi's economy."

"The Mississippi Department of Education is excited about the opportunity for Biloxi students to benefit from the extra support for AP math, science and literature courses provided through NMSI," said Chauncey Spears, Mississippi Department of Education. "With the added support, students will have the opportunity to learn from teachers who have the resources and training to really support better student achievement in the AP courses."

The addition of Biloxi High School was made possible by a $388,507 grant from the ONR, which also is supporting the NMSI AP program in four other military-impacted schools.  The ONR is the office within the U.S. Department of the Navy that coordinates, executes, and promotes the science and technology programs of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps through schools, universities, government laboratories, nonprofit and for-profit organizations.

"NMSI has made remarkable progress in meeting the STEM education needs of military dependents and defense families across the U.S. We are a proud supporter of this rigorous and impactful program, which is building a strong pre-college, STEM pipeline that will help to meet the Navy and Marine Corps' workforce needs. This program along with many others in the Department of the Navy's STEM portfolio are capturing the interests and advancing the knowledge of the young people who will become the next generation of naval scientists and engineers," said Cmdr. Joseph Cohn, Deputy Director of Research for Naval STEM.

About NMSI: NMSI, a non-profit organization, was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to transform education in the United States. NMSI has received national recognition for training K-12 teachers and improving student performance through the rapid expansion of these highly successful programs: NMSI AP program, NMSI Teacher Training program, and UT Austin's UTeach program. Inaugural funding for NMSI, was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. For more information, please visit www.nms.org.

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board.

Media Contact:  Mary Ortiz, 214-346-1245, [email protected]

SOURCE National Math and Science Initiative