Improving Education, One Student at a Time

Last week at dinner event hosted by NMSI in Oklahoma, Lillian Bocquin, a recent graduate at Del City High School, took charge of the podium to thank her teachers, NMSI’s staff, and the donors involved with NMSI’s Comprehensive AP Program, which she believes has impacted her life in irreplaceable ways. “It is because of my AP classes that I know I am very prepared, as well as extremely excited, to start classes at the University of Oklahoma this fall,” she said. “I have earned my way into college because of AP.”

Lillian Bocquin, who is majoring in Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, is just one example of how NMSI’s program is changing the lives of thousands of students. At the Oklahoma Training Event alone, approximately 300 teachers from across the country came together at Del City High School to receive the rigorous training and support they need to help students like Bocquin be successful in their college and work careers. However, this particular training was unique in that it had a specific focus on military families. According to Nasreen Iqbal of The Oklahoman “the program trains teachers to prepare students who come from military families to take advanced placement tests that could provide them with college credit.” Vicki Middleton of EastWard News also reported that Carl Albert High School, which is currently in its second year of NMSI’s AP Program, has seen “a 254% increase in its qualifying scores of students who took Advanced Placement classes,” and student enrollment has jumped “from 159 to 327 students.”
 
Earning college credit is a major component of the program, but it also aims to provide these students a consistent and rigorous education no matter where they go to school.
 
This is no ordinary program. It is a life changer. It equips students like Lillian and her peers with the skills and the focus they need to be successful beyond the classroom.
 
“I could not have been more equipped for college, and life, without the AP classes I have taken,” said Bocquin. “AP is the first step to a possibly life changing adventure, because it’s about more than just college, it’s about the kids' future.”
 
Start making the change in your classroom today.