Last week, the Peninsula School District celebrated its two high schools — Gig Harbor High School and Peninsula High School — being selected in September as two of five schools chosen as SpringBoard National Demonstration Schools for the 2012-14 school years.

These five schools — the others are located in Florida and Pennsylvania — were selected because of the outstanding practices of their teachers and administrators during the implementation of SpringBoard, which was developed by the College Board — a New York City-based organization dedicated to expanding access to higher education.

The SpringBoard program itself is a college readiness program in English language arts and mathematics for sixth- through twelfth-graders.

The research-based program provides culturally and personally relevant activities designed to engage students in problem solving and critical analysis by creating a pre-Advanced Placement program that increases participation and prepares a greater diversity of students for success in AP and college.

SpringBoard is designed to align with Common Core State Standards by providing teachers with a rigorous curriculum and high informative student assessments. The program is used in more than 1,400 schools and serves more than 1.4 million students nationwide.

Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools will serve as model sites for future SpringBoard implementations throughout the country. In addition to this recognition, Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools will receive additional professional development, registration and recognition at College Board events and a customized school banner and plaque that was presented early last week. In addition, the two high schools will get opportunities to preview  new SpringBoard-related teaching resources.

“Schools benefit by getting a professional development stipend,” said PSD instructional facilitator Allison Bennett. “So, it’s enabling us to grow professionally to that next level.”

Gig Harbor and Peninsula high schools — along with their counterparts in Florida and Pennsylvania — have implemented SpringBoard for a minimum of two years with ongoing professional development and improved student achievement.

Their teachers have established a professional learning community within the school, so they and their peers can learn from collective experiences and share their best practices.

Each of the five schools selected produced a brief video of SpringBoard in action, featuring student, teacher and administrator interviews that highlight the benefits and successes achieved. Additional evaluation criteria included classroom walk-throughs, student and staff interviews, and a portfolio review by the SpringBoard National Demonstration School site selection team.

“We’re very excited,” Bennett said. “We have a lot of professional development opportunities that will grow out of this. We’re very excited to be recognized.”