Two Cd'A high schools win Gaston Caperton Opportunity Awards

COEUR d'ALENE — Students and teachers celebrated their hard work this week at Lake City and Coeur d'Alene high schools as each school received an award and $25,000.

The two high schools were named 2015 Gaston Caperton Opportunity Award schools by the College Board at a forum in Washington, D.C., in November.

This week, representatives from the College Board traveled to Coeur d'Alene to present the schools with plaques and celebrate the accomplishment with the students and staff during assemblies held Wednesday at LCHS and Thursday at CHS.

"Receiving the Gaston Caperton Opportunity Award is truly a remarkable accomplishment," said Matt Handelman, superintendent of Coeur d'Alene Public Schools, during Thursday's assembly. "Today's celebration is a reflection of the quality and tireless work of our teachers and staff, the commitment of our students and the support of our families and community."

Barbara Cronan, vice president of membership at the College Board, said Coeur d'Alene and Lake City were two of only four high schools in three districts to receive the prestigious award.

The College Board is a national nonprofit that connects students to college and opportunities. The award was created in 2001 by Gaston Caperton, a former College Board president. The award honors high schools that help expand access to higher education. The winning high schools must demonstrate significant and consistent growth in the number of underrepresented students taking college-level courses and applying to four or more colleges. The $25,000 given to each school is to be applied toward programs that encourage college readiness.

"Despite having a large population of low-income students, Coeur d'Alene High School has a graduation rate of 93 percent," Cronan said Thursday. "This sits in contrast to national data and trends."

Handelman said 44 percent, almost half, of the students in the district are enrolled in the free or reduced-cost lunch programs designed for low-income families.

Cronan mentioned three words — unusual, abnormal and deviant — used by judges when they were selecting winners from the data received regarding high school students in the Coeur d'Alene School District. She said these are the words typically used when something seems "off or wrong." This is because when they look at schools that attempt to expand advanced placement classes and other rigorous courses, the students scores and college applications typically go down if there is a high number of low-income students.

"When your teachers and administrators decided to expand college access, readiness and success to all students, AP to all students, PSAT and SAT to more students — what happened was abnormal," Cronan told CHS students Thursday. "Your scores and participation increased. And not just a little — a lot."

Deanne Clifford, principal of LCHS, said all of the freshmen, sophomores and juniors are given the PSAT. She said this helps increase the scores because the students are exposed to the test every year, contributing to more students realizing they have the ability to take and pass the exam, which in turn contributes to more students wanting to attend college.

"I think what it boils down to is we have set a tone of inclusiveness in our advanced learning program," Clifford said. "We make sure that every student, no matter their economic background or ability, gets to participate in our advanced placement and advanced learning classes, and that's really huge. No one is left behind. Everybody gets a chance. I think that's a lot of the reason why increased test participation across the board has occurred. I think the Gaston Caperton Opportunity Award really is about opportunity, and that's what we're about — creating opportunities for kids."

In November, Handelman and a student representative, Jacob Lockhart, traveled to Washington, D.C., to represent the district when the winners of the award were announced. Lockhart is a senior at CHS and spoke at Thursday's assembly on behalf of the student body.

Lockhart said he is honored, as a student, that his hard work and the hard work of so many others was not only appreciated, but recognized on a national level.

"As a student it's sometimes hard to tell if what we are doing is acknowledged," Lockhart said. "It's hard to know if all the late nights, the stress and the constant juggling of sports, clubs, relationships, homework and home life is actually yielding results. Awards such as the one being presented today serve as a reminder that yes, someone does notice."