CENTER FOR COLLEGE READINESS

By The Numbers

Since 1967, the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies has fulfilled Edgar Odell Lovett’s vision of a university engaged with its community by providing high-quality educational opportunities to our ever-changing community.

In 1994, in service to this vision, the Glasscock School established a department of teacher professional development to provide summer training for AP and Pre-AP teachers. Though our original mandate was teacher professional development, over the last several years our initiatives have expanded to include programming for not only teachers but also district administrators, and secondary students.

In light of our ever-expanding and diversified portfolio of educational programming, in 2011 we created the Center for College Readiness which better encompasses the full scope of our work. Historically training Pre-AP and AP teachers and then in 2005 expanding to include IB teachers and administrators, we have always been advocates of coursework that is rigorous and prepares students for post-secondary education. Our programming has and continues to be centered on innovative strategies and content to increase the college readiness of students.

Funding for these award-winning programs has been received from the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, and the Freeman Foundation, among others.

Key Events In Our History

1994 – The School, under the leadership of Edie Carlson and Dean McIntire, initiated the development of its first teacher professional development offerings, Advanced Placement Summer Institutes, endorsed by the College Board.

1995 – The first annual Advanced Placement Summer Institute is offered. We have trained nearly tens of thousands of AP and Pre-AP teachers from all over the world.

2002 – The National Science Foundation awards the department $700,000 to create an AP Digital Library of peer reviewed resources and curricular materials for AP teachers nationwide. The grant, authored by Dr. Siva Kumari, is our first national grant.

2005 – The first annual International Baccalaureate endorsed IB DP Workshop is offered. We have trained close to 10,000 IB teachers from across the globe.

2007 – The Freeman Foundation awards the department $400,000 to create the Institute for Chinese Language Teaching (ICLT). The goal of ICLT was to educate and certify a body of Chinese language teachers to fulfill a rising demand in Texas and the United States. The program provided professional development for 48 participants and certified 24 Chinese language teachers between 2007 and 2011. Our work with Chinese language teaching evolved through funding ($300,000) from the U.S. Department of Defense’s National Security Initiative. The STARTALK Chinese Student Enrichment Program, designed and administered by the department, worked directly with multiple school districts and provided Chinese language enrichment for more than 600 students.

2009 – The U.S. Department of Education awards the department and two local school districts a $1 million Teaching American History grant. The grant collaboration was designed to provide content-rich teacher professional development for district American history and social studies teachers. The grant, authored by Dr. Jennifer Gigliotti, marks our first Department of Education award.

2010 – The department offers its first online course, the Global Education Certificate program. Since then, multiple online and hybrid courses have been offered on a variety of topics including college counseling, math, science and American history.

2011 – In light of our ever expanding and diversified portfolio of educational programming, in 2011 we created the Center for College Readiness which better encompasses the full scope of our work. Our programming has and continues to be centered on innovative strategies and content to increase the college readiness of students.

2012 – The Houston Endowment grants the AVID Center and Rice University’s Center for College Readiness $2.3 million in support of the Houston area College Readiness Initiative. The initiative addresses the need for a comprehensive college readiness system in a consortium group of thirteen Houston-area school districts. The collaborative is committed to helping students in the consortium schools prepare to succeed in academically rigorous courses. The grant, co-authored by Dr. Gigliotti, represents our largest award and collaboration to date.

2014 – The Center for College Readiness celebrates 20 years in service to K12 teachers and students as our flagship program, the AP Summer Institute, marks its 20th annual offering.

2015 – The Center for College Readiness adds PYP and MYP to our existing DP International Baccalaureate workshop offerings.

Current & Past Grants

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative – Project Equip, 2019-2021

Project Equip is a collaborative initiative between Rice University (the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, the Houston Education Research Consortium, and OpenStax) and Houston ISD.   The main goal of this project is to improve exam scores for AP Biology, AP Physics I and AP U.S. History overall, as well as focusing on closing the achievement gap for students from various groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, economic status, and immigrant status). 

Houston Endowment – AVID Rice College Readiness Initiative, 2012-2014

The AVID Rice College Readiness Initiative addresses the need for a comprehensive college readiness system in a consortium group of thirteen Houston-area school districts. The collaborative is committed to helping students in the consortium schools prepare to succeed in academically rigorous courses. The collaborative engages educators (including teachers, administrators, and counselors), parents, and students in carefully constructed learning opportunities to build awareness among all stakeholders of the importance of college and to increase the number of students who graduate from high school ready for college. Participating Houston-area school districts include Alief, Alvin, Channelview, Deer Park, Dickinson, Fort Bend, Goose Creek, Houston, Humble, Klein, La Porte, Pasadena and Spring.

Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Texas Regional Collaboratives for Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching is a network of P-16 partnerships that provide sustained, high-intensity professional development to P-12 teachers of science and mathematics. The Center for College Readiness works with Humble ISD’s Math and Science Collaboratives; providing a forty-hour, content-rich, summer professional development workshop.

Institute of Chinese Language Teaching – STARTALK Chinese Student Enrichment Program, 2012, 2013

The STARTALK Chinese Student Enrichment Program is established by the Institute of Chinese Language Teaching through funding from the National Security Language Initiative. STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of Americans learning, speaking and teaching foreign languages by offering K-16 students and teachers creative and engaging summer language education and teacher development programs. The Rice University grant has served multiple districts in the Houston area; providing Chinese language enrichment for more than 600 students.

Department of Education – Teaching American History Grant with Fort Bend and Spring Branch ISDs, 2009-2013

Through the support of a Department of Education Teaching American History grant, Fort Bend and Spring Branch ISDs will work with Rice University to provide content-rich teacher professional development for district American history and social studies teachers. The "Teachers as Historians" program is designed to raise student achievement by improving teacher’s knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history.

ProjectGRAD – College and Career Institute, 2009

Rice University’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies hosted 10th-grade students from ProjectGRAD Houston. The students participated in a week-long College and Career Institute that provided them with resources to maximize their high school years and optimize their chances for college admissions. Five local area high schools from Houston ISD were represented: Jefferson Davis, Sam Houston 9th Grade Campus, Reagan, Wheatley and Yates.

Multiple Funders – The Rice Summer Enrichment Program, Cesar E. Chavez High School, 2008, 2009

Rice University implemented a math, science and language arts enrichment program at Chavez High School in Houston ISD. This program served students entering 10th and 11th grades enrolled in the school's "Project Lead the Way" program. The program’s goal was to engender a strong sense of excitement about the practical applications of math, science and language arts.

2008 Funders: Cesar E. Chavez High School, Goodyear, Houston East End Chamber of Commerce, LyondellBasell, Rhodia, Texas Petrochemicals, Inc., and Valero Refining Company, Texas

2009 Funders: Cesar E. Chavez High School, Houston East End Chamber of Commerce, Goodyear, and Houston ISD

Freeman Foundation – Institute for Chinese Language Teaching (ICLT), 2007 – 2009

Created in response to a growing demand for certified teachers of Chinese language in Texas and the southern United States, this program was designed to build on the substantial strength that Rice has in Chinese language teaching and Asian studies. The courses are taught by Rice faculty or those from other higher education institutions and provide content not readily available in other area teacher certification programs.

Baker Hughes Foundation – 4x4 Science Symposium, 2007

In response to recent "4x4" graduation requirements compelling all high school students (beginning with current freshmen) to earn four credits in math and science, Rice University offered a one-day symposium highlighting a variety of science electives that schools may choose to fulfill the fourth-year science requirement. The event was designed for classroom teachers, department heads and school administrators, among others.

Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) – Petroleum Exploration and Production Technology Workshop, 2007

Rice University offered a five-day multidisciplinary course to enhance high school teachers’ knowledge of petroleum exploration and production technology. The course curriculum included advanced content lectures from industry experts and academics as well as field trips to points of interest within Houston’s world-renowned energy sector. Sponsored by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, this hands-on teacher workshop was designed for high school educators interested in learning the science of the energy industry.

Arthur Vining Davis Foundations – Academies for High School Teachers of Advanced Courses, 2007

Texas High School Project, Exemplar Grant Program – Academies for High School Teachers, 2007

The Texas High School Project Fund of Communities Foundation of Texas recognizes the Rice University Advanced Topic Academies as an Exemplar. The Exemplar Program is a grant program designed to showcase and support existing successful and innovative secondary school design programs that are associated with increased student performance in schools serving high-need student populations. Exemplars are used to provide secondary schools across the state with models of best practices and recommendations for replication.

Washington Mutual – Rice University AP Summer Institute, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

With this grant, Advanced Placement (AP) and Pre-AP biology, chemistry, and physics teachers’ had FREE access to the APDL’s Personal Research Assistant service. This service was an efficient way for teachers to get information in a timely manner. 

Project GRAD – Collaborating Entity: Project GRAD USA, 2003 – 2006

Rice University's Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies was engaged in a three-year project with Project GRAD to provide online mentoring for teachers of AP and Pre-AP English courses in six under-served schools, four in Houston and two in Atlanta.

National Science Foundation – AP Digital Library,  2002 – 2004

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