Black Belt Students Complete Summer School at Indian Springs School

INDIAN SPRINGS, Ala., June 28, 2011— Fifteen rising high school freshmen will complete their studies at Higher Achievement Summer School (H.A.S.S.), a summer enrichment program created by three Teach For America teachers, this week. Over the last four weeks, the students, hailing from Marengo and Sumter counties, took classes, toured area colleges and universities, and visited local attractions.

All the students were required to write a research paper on a topic of their choice while enrolled in H.A.S.S., and they will present their papers at a research symposium at Indian Springs School on Thursday, June 29, from 12:30pm to 2pm. If you wish to attend the symposium or cover the story on campus, please call Kathryn D’Arcy at 205-332-0592.

Teach For America recruits, trains, and supports top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in under-resourced schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity. The three Teach For America teachers who created H.A.S.S. are part of the nonprofit’s Alabama region, where in the 2011-12 school year there will be 85 first- and second-year teachers working in high-need schools.

H.A.S.S. students spent the first week at the University of West Alabama and the remaining weeks at Indian Springs School, a Birmingham day and boarding college preparatory school. To launch and run the summer school, the three Teach For America teachers – Laurie Brown, Ashley Buckelew, and Justin Younker – raised over $17,000 and received numerous donations from corporations and organizations in the greater Birmingham area.

“We’re so grateful for the support we’ve received from the community,” Younker said. “It was truly inspiring to see that people were willing to go out of their way to help our students have a successful and fun summer.”

Buckelew said one of the highlights of H.A.S.S. has been watching her students make connections between what they learned in class and what they experienced on their field trips in Birmingham.

“It has been an honor to host the H.A.S.S. program this summer,” said Indian Springs School Director Gareth Vaughan. :We at Indian Springs believe in the mission of Teach For America, and we are pleased to partner with them in the broader effort of improving education and positively impacting the lives of young people.”

“I’m proud of Ashley, Justin and Laurie’s commitment to putting student excellence first,” said J.W. Carpenter, executive director of Teach For America’s Alabama region. “It’s amazing what is possible when great people and great organizations partner for the benefit of students.”

Brown, Buckelew, and Younker plan to expand H.A.S.S. next summer – this year’s 15 students will be invited to return, along with a new group of rising freshmen.

"I believe that all children, regardless of background, can succeed academically when held to high expectations and provided the resources and support they deserve – and that's what we're seeing with these students,” Brown said. “Watching them grow so much over the last few weeks has been a rewarding experience for me as well, and I am excited to see them again next year."

About Indian Springs School

IndianSprings School is a national leader in coed boarding and day education in grades 8-12, located 16 miles from downtown Birmingham. Founded in 1952, the mission of the school is to develop in students a love of learning, a sense of integrity and moral courage, and an ethic of participatory citizenship. For more information, visit www.indiansprings.org.

About Teach For America

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. Today, more than 9,000 corps members are teaching in 43 regions across the country while nearly 24,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit http://www.teachforamerica.org.