Exemplary AP® Program: School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center, Dallas

Feb. 2010

Southwestern News

Math is the foundation for nearly all of the course work students undertake at the School of Science and Engineering at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center in Dallas. Approximately 95 percent of incoming freshmen have already completed one year of algebra, and the pace picks up from there.

It’s no surprise that these students excel in math, but their extraordinary performances across race, ethnicity and socioeconomic categories have garnered national honors. The School of Science and Engineering had the largest number of Latino students from the class of 2009 who scored a 3 or higher on the AP® Calculus AB Exam.

The majority of the students at the magnet school take a highly accelerated math curriculum, allowing them to complete two, three or four courses in a single school year.

“One of the things we have to focus on is getting our ninth-graders on the same page,” said principal Jovan C. Wells. “We hold a boot camp in the summer to get them acclimated to the environment and expectations. We want to get them accustomed to the calculator and the type of work they’ll be doing. … It’s free for them and gets them started fast and furious.

“Another aspect that I believe helps our students tremendously is transportation. We have after-school tutoring; buses stay to take kids home after school hours. It’s important that if a student needs help, the inconvenience of transportation is not a hurdle. After-school tutoring here is much more the norm, so it’s not a stigma. It’s more unusual not to be here after regular hours.”

Wells also credits her teaching corps, many of whom have experience in industry or in higher education. “Some of our teachers have worked at NASA, Texas Instruments, or at other places as scientists or engineers,” Wells said. “They come at it with a different perspective because of their experience. They really have a wealth of knowledge to share, and students appreciate what they bring.” One of the lead science teachers, Christopher Bruhn, recently won the O’Donnell Texas AP Teacher of the Year award.

That experience pays off especially in lab courses, Wells said. For AP Chemistry and AP Physics, the school offers a “superlab” class. “You don’t see the teachers doing a whole lot in there,” said Wells. “We provide the basic materials, and the students really take the opportunity to discover. I think that mirrors the real world … and there’s a positive peer pressure factor as the students interact with each other in a rigorous learning environment.”

Many students at the school are the first in their families to pursue a college education, and universities from around the country, including MIT, Rice, Yale, Harvard and Cal Tech, visit the school to recruit them. The school is working to help families through the admission and financial aid processes.

“We’ve had several students accepted to the best engineering programs in the country,” Wells said, but sometimes money is an issue. “Many will choose to stay closer to home because of their families or economic situations.”

Wells added that one of the things that pleases her most is the way her graduates help each other after they go to college. “They will find a community on campus and really guide new students through.

“Being at this school is a life-changing event for many of our students,” she said, “and, really, for their families.”