America Online Announces 2004-2005 AOL Aspires Grant Winners; Eleven Washington, D.C.-Area Schools Receive Grants of Up to $10,000 Each to Implement Programs Raising Aspirations Among Youth

Business Wire, Sept 29, 2004

Gunston Middle School - Arlington County, VA

Gunston Middle School will fund the SOLAR (SOL Academic Reinforcement) Academy with its AOL Aspirations grant. The SOLAR Academy involves mandatory group study sessions for 8th graders who have failed their 5th and 7th grade SOLs and continue to demonstrate poor academic performance. Goals are to increase student performance in the classroom, strengthen students' academic skills so they will pass SOL tests, and reduce off task and disruptive classroom behavior by increasing student academic confidence. Courses covered by group study sessions will include Math, English, World Geography, Physical Science, Reading and a component to teach students how to plan and organize.

Francis C. Hammond Middle School - City of Alexandria, VA

The AOL Aspirations Fund will allow the Francis C. Hammond Middle School to create an all-male literacy club, called "Club BILI", in an effort to improve the substandard reading scores of male students. Members of this club will participate in monthly genre book clubs, attend book store author visits, hear from authors on site, make book selections at local bookstores and promote literacy practices with younger male readers. In addition, book club members and their parents will attend literacy events at the school, and the Club BILI Committee will provide male readers and their families with free books, magazines, other materials, and mentor role models.

Manassas Park Middle School - City of Manassas Park, VA

With the help of their AOL Aspirations grant, Manassas Park Middle School plans to implement the STARS (Scholars Together Aspiring to Reach Success) Program. STARS will pair at-risk students in grades 7 and 8 with two mentor teachers and two guidance counselors to experience new opportunities and challenges. The mentors and scholars will meet before, during and/or after school to engage in team building and leadership activities. Teachers will organize a speaker series with specific topics geared towards middle level adolescents that inspire success. The students will learn about career opportunities outside their community and visit local colleges. Through opportunities to be leaders, experience a variety of opportunities outside of school, and develop close relationships with mentor teachers and guidance counselors, at-risk students will build skills for life and have more success in the school learning environment and in the future.

Robert E. Lee High School - Fairfax County, VA

Project LEAP (Lee Ethics Action Program) exposes students to ethics issues in an effort to create a more positive atmosphere in the school. School faculty believes exposure to ethics content will help students develop a greater appreciation of the school's diversity while achieving greater academic and social success. Ethics seminars at Lee High School, which serves an ethnically diverse population, have met with success in the past. With its grant, the school will expand the program to incorporate ethics issues including alcohol and drug use, peer conflict and resolution and cyber-ethics.