REACH SCHOLARSHIP CHALLENGE 2009 - 2010
AGREEMENT AND WAIVER INFORMATION

IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR STUDENTS AND PARENTS

About Rewarding Achievement (REACH)

The mission of REACH is to help high achieving, low-income and minority students succeed academically in high school, go to good colleges, and earn four-year college degrees. To fulfill this mission, REACH gives incentive scholarship awards to students at participating inner-city high schools in New York City who earn passing scores (3, 4, and 5) on Advanced Placement (AP) exams-and helps them pass by providing academic and professional enrichment to thousands of students and their teachers. (Many colleges and universities give credit or advanced standing based on top scores on AP exams; this can potentially save students thousands of dollars in tuition costs.)

REACH Scholar Awards

Students at schools designated as "Waitlist Status" are not eligible for REACH Scholar Awards, but they must register properly and timely in order to participate in REACH activities, including LEARN, EARN, WIN! (LEW), a series of Saturday AP prep workshops taught by AP experts and top teachers.

Your school has been designated as a "Waitlist Status" school.

REACH Scholarship Challenge

One major change to the REACH program is that schools must increase the number of AP exams passed by 10% each year in order to continue participating in the program (this past year, increases in passes at all REACH Schools collectively equaled 20%). Schools that fail to meet this "challenge" may:

be put on Probation Status.
be moved to Relegation Status.
be dropped from the program altogether.

In making decisions about which schools will be invited to participate in the program next year, REACH will look at AP exam score data first and then will take into account a number of other factors, such as a school's AP performance in previous years, the number of students and educators who participate in LEW and professional development programs, and expansions or reductions in AP offerings at particular schools.

Eligibility to Participate in REACH Activities

To be eligible to participate in any REACH-sponsored activity, including LEW, students must submit a signed Agreement and Waiver Form and register online in a timely manner. We will give students until November 30, 2009 to complete online registration, beginning in early October. The online process is very simple, and there will be no exceptions for late applicants.

Beginning in January 2010, REACH will host LEW at Baruch College in 15 AP subjects:

Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Language, English Literature, Environmental Science, European History, Macroeconomics, Physics B, Psychology, Statistics, US Government, US History, World History

REACH will distribute the complete LEW schedule by email and will provide schedules to AP teachers and schools.

Once a student's registration is approved, REACH will provide each student with a REACH ID.

Students who successfully complete participation in LEARN, EARN, WIN! AP workshops:

Students who do not successfully complete participation in LEARN, EARN, WIN! AP workshops:
are not eligible for REACH Scholar Awards, but may participate for free in REACH-sponsored programs, such as LEW
39% = last year's pass rate in Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Language, English Literature, European History, Physics B, Statistics, US Government, US History and World History for the 2,300 students who participated in LEW

17% = last year's pass rate in Biology, Calculus AB, Calculus BC, Chemistry, English Language, English Literature, European History, Physics B, Statistics, US Government, US History and World History for students who did not participate in LEW
are eligible for raffled door prizes, including $100 gift certificates, cool college gear, and iPods; lunch is free.

are not eligible for raffled door prizes, including $100 gift certificates, cool college gear, and iPods
should attend all three full-day Saturday workshops at Baruch College

• If a student is sick, s/he must report this to REACH by the next Tuesday after an absence; students will be required to document any illness and make up Study Hall hours for time missed

all students who register for REACH are encouraged to come to any of the Saturday workshops, and may pick up free AP materials on any Saturday, if they are available
will work with some of the best national AP experts and teachers and have access to free AP materials, books and resources, including a comprehensive curriculum designed to help students do well on AP exams

• 39% vs. 17%.. You decide.

Additional Terms and Conditions

Each student applicant must completely read the Agreement and Waiver Information together with his/her parent/guardian.
Each student applicant must complete and return the Agreement and Waiver Form to his/her AP teacher and register online by November 30, 2009. The Agreement and Waiver Form must be signed by a parent or guardian.
Students who do not register are not eligible to participate in REACH activities.
For students enrolled in more than one AP course, s/he should submit only one Agreement and Waiver Form to the AP Teacher whose class s/he attends first each day.
After submitting the Agreement and Waiver Form, each student applicant must go online and completely fill out the REACH online application, which asks students to provide REACH with important background information, including name, home address, telephone number, e-mail address and other personal information.*
Each student applicant agrees to fill out mandatory online REACH Surveys completely and timely during the school year. These surveys are critical to the REACH program and help REACH understand our student population better.
Each student applicant agrees to inform REACH of any change to an e-mail address or other background information by emailing REACH@nycup.org.
It is important for REACH to communicate the importance of academic rigor in high schools that serve students from lowincome backgrounds. Each student applicant and his/her parent/guardian understands this and authorizes REACH to use the student applicant's name, voice, likeness, image, photograph, and/or any other source of information about the student applicant's academic achievement, in program materials, promotional materials, and other works, including, but not limited to, internal publications, third-party publications, video commercials, media coverage and internet displays.
Each applicant and his/her parent/guardian understand that REACH is a privately funded program, and that it reserves, and explicitly does not waive, its right to modify any rules or policies associated with the REACH program. Each applicant and his/her parent/guardian also understand that REACH reserves, and explicitly does not waive, its right to resolve any disputes related to REACH Scholar Awards.

* REACH will securely maintain the confidentiality of this information and will only disseminate this information with the appropriate consent of the student or parent/guardian, in compliance with applicable federal and New York State laws.