Three Pasadena ISD campuses received exciting news recently when they learned that they received grants from the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation.

Sam Rayburn High School was awarded $10,000 and Bondy Intermediate and Schneider Middle School were presented $5,000 each for outstanding campus participation in the Advanced Placement Strategies program. The grants were given to those campuses with the most participation in training programs and vertical team meetings, use of diagnostic tests, participation in end-of-course exams and improvement in programs.

Teachers from across Pasadena ISD secondary schools joined Advanced Placement (AP) Strategies Inc. for back-to-school training in their subject areas to provide new methods and materials for teaching the AP, or college prep, courses. Pasadena ISD has been involved in the AP Strategies program for five years with the assistance of the Dell Foundation. During that time, the number of students taking and passing AP courses and exams has increased significantly.

"Our teachers have done a tremendous job of using new methods to recruit and teach students," explains Pat Sermas, Director of Advanced Academics and Assessment. "The grants offered by the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation that made the AP Strategies Program possible are invaluable in providing support for our staff and making it possible for more of our students to take the tests."