What People Are Saying

The REACH program is being embraced by a wide range of educators, elected officials and students:

NYC Chancellor Joel Klein

“We have got to change, and change in dramatic ways, educational outcomes for kids who grow up in poverty, kids of color in this city and throughout this country. We have got to eliminate the racial and ethnic achievement gap in America today. The REACH program is another innovative, different way to try to change outcomes for our students in our city. I applaud its innovation and am grateful to The Council of Urban Professionals and The Pershing Square Foundation for stepping up to tackle the critical goal of increasing the number of students who perform at a high level on Advanced Placement tests.”

Elected Officials

Darryl C. Towns, New York State Assemblyman from Brooklyn and Chair of the New York State Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative Caucus: “I am so excited about this initiative because this is one that’s coming to the students and saying, “What can we do to help you?” This initiative has students in mind. We don’t want to solve educational problems by lowering the bar.

“I want to thank CUP and the Department of Education and everyone who’s come together so that everyone can take advantage of Advanced Placement. The successful completion of Advanced Placement is indicative of where you’re going.

“REACH is a great example of how private sector financing can help reinvigorate our communities. My colleagues in the Caucus know well that many students in low-income communities don’t participate in AP programs not because they don’t want to but because they have to work outside of school to make ends meet and can’t take on additional coursework. The financial incentives provided by REACH are an important tool to help our youth make this important investment in their future.”

Denny Farrell, New York State Assemblyman from Harlem and Chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee: “This is a very good program, and I want to thank the people who put it together. You know, there’s a game called “Break The Bank” – well, I look at your scores, I know what you’ve done to get here, and I know you’re going to break the bank!”

Malcolm Smith, Queens, NYS Senate Minority Leader: “We’re going to make sure that if you want to go to college, we’re going to pay you to do so.”

Robert Jackson, NY City Council, Harlem, Chair of the Education Committee and Co-Chair of the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus: “What we have here is an incentive to achieve at the highest level.”

Principals

Gregory Hodge, Principal at REACH participant The Frederick Douglass Academy in Central Harlem: “With these generous incentives and supports in place, there is little doubt in my mind that we will see a multifold increase in the number of our students who take and pass rigorous AP exams and who will gain acceptance into competitive colleges. We are all excited to take on this challenge because we know that our students appreciate how rewarding the challenge of academic rigor and high academic achievement can be. It takes some of the pressure off of the student. Believe me, this is going to mean we have more students wanting to take and study for the test.”

Geraldine Ambrosio, Principal at REACH participant DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx: “We are excited to participate in the REACH program because we believe that the lessons learned throughout the year will reaffirm what we tell our kids all the time: if you work hard and boldly take on the most important challenges, you will be rewarded with the gift of scholarship and the ability to choose your own destiny.”

William Bassell, Principal at REACH participant Long Island City High School in Queens, compared the program to a college scholarship, adding that it was just another way to reward students who have made academics a priority: “We don’t think Advanced Placement classes should be just an elitist thing. It should be for any kid who is willing to do the work. A lot of these kids surprise themselves. A financial reward is always a great motivator for teenagers.”

Tyona Washington, Principal at REACH participant Canarsie High School in Brooklyn: “I hope the students will see that hard work pays off. I want our students to be prepared for higher learning and to succeed in college. As educators we have to continue to find ways to motivate and reward academic achievement. I wish this program was around when I was in high school.”

Students

Derek Zimmerman, a senior at Frederick Douglass Academy, when told there were people who criticized linking cash rewards to academic success: “I’d wonder what economic backgrounds those people are coming from?” When he won the school’s $150 prize for scoring a 5 last year, he spent the money at Barnes & Noble. “I splurged on Barron’s books,” he said, referring to the publisher of test preparation guides.

Karim Abouelnaga, Long Island City High School (15 years old): “My dad recently passed away from lymphoma, so you know it’s harder for me. I have five other brothers. So you know if I was told I can make money for a test I can take, of course I’m going to work a lot harder. It’s going to put me to the test, to see if I can actually improve my scores from last year.”

Veronica Lliguichuzca, a sophomore at Long Island City High School: “I’m striving to go to NYU. That’s the college of my dreams and I know it costs a lot of money, and a lot of money that my parents can’t afford.”

A student at Frederick Douglass Academy: “It [the money] is an extra motivation to do better on the test but I think that doing well on the test is most important, because if you get a 5 that looks great for your college application.”

Ben Antoine, Long Island City High School (11^th grader): “I mean it’s almost like a trophy to show all the hard work you’ve done, it pays off in the end.”

Union Leaders

Ernest Logan, President of the CSA (NYC principals’ union): “I support REACH’s mission of encouraging more New York City students to take and excel in AP courses and of enhancing AP programs within our schools. I want to thank the Chancellor for being creative and innovative in allowing us to present this program and also thank Whitney, Eddie and CUP because they had the vision to provide incentives so that you [AP students] could continue to do what you do best, which is to excel.”

Randi Weingarten, President of the UFT (NYC teachers’ union): “While this privately-funded program will provide assistance to students in 25 schools, the city needs to increase its commitment to Advanced Placement and other college-prep coursework in all of the City’s middle and high schools.

“AP classes provide high school students with important opportunities to pursue rigorous courses of study that can result in college credits at a minimal cost. Unfortunately, there are far too few AP courses in New York City public high schools, and those that do exist are concentrated within a much-too-small number of high schools.

“We need to expand AP opportunities for our high school students, especially in schools serving high needs communities. We need to provide schools, teachers and students with the needed support to start and expand these programs -- the funds to schedule the extra AP classes, to purchase expensive college textbooks and to pay the exam fees for low income students, and the professional development for teachers to design and execute college courses.”

REACH’s response to Ms. Weingarten: “We agree wholeheartedly with the UFT President’s sentiments and join her in calling for Advanced Placement rigor in all high schools, especially those REACH is focused on that serve low-income communities and, in particular, African American and Latino students who are often left off the rigorous academic track that leads students to college success.

“If the REACH program is successful, we plan to expand it to many more schools that seek to build Advanced Placement programs. As a first step toward this goal, REACH will provide grants of $2,000 to an additional 50 New York City schools that serve low-income students, so they can invest in their AP programs and potentially become part of the full REACH program in future years. REACH is also working to expand professional development opportunities for teachers at 80 low-income schools in New York City.”

Editorials

The Harvard Crimson: “…it is a commendable initiative…it is hard to argue against any program that strives to increase students’ engagement in their education, especially when it is targeted toward low-income and minority students… the program does not spend money without measurable achievement. Unlike an underperforming teacher or an expenditure on unnecessary supplies, which both represent sunk costs for a school district, here, a student has to perform before money is spent.

“Yes, the concept of providing monetary incentives on tests is controversial, but if it works, it will streamline the education system and serve as an invaluable tool in correcting the inequality in academic performance. Students from low-income and minority backgrounds will be given the opportunity to catch up to their peers while also enjoying a direct monetary benefit from studying hard.

“Knowledge for knowledge’s sake is a powerful concept. This truth will be revealed, not desecrated, by the fruits that will be borne of these pecuniary rewards.”