“It’s one thing to speak to your entire ninth grade class and tell them about your advanced academics offerings… It’s another thing to… tell [specific] students, ‘This tells me you’re ready. I’m empowering you to take the next step,’” shares one district leader about their participation in Impact Florida’s Opportunity Cadre.
Expanding access to advanced coursework, such as Advanced Placement (AP), the Cambridge Advanced program’s Advanced Subsidiary or Advanced level courses, Dual Enrollment (DE), and International Baccalaureate (IB), is not only an educational imperative but also an economic one. Students engaged in advanced coursework are more likely to graduate from high school and earn a college degree, which increases potential lifetime earnings and is one of the most effective pathways for social mobility.
Still, students too often fail to enroll due to restrictive eligibility criteria, financial challenges, and uneven access to school resources.
Students engaged in advanced coursework are more likely to graduate from high school and earn a college degree, which increases potential lifetime earnings and is one of the most effective pathways for social mobility.
Recognizing these challenges, Impact Florida launched the Opportunity Cadre, uniting district leaders from Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS), and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) in a commitment to expand enrollment to advanced courses for Florida students through collaboration and capacity-building.
Their starting point? Data.
Cadre districts used multiple data sources, such as administrative data, student and staff surveys, even assessment-generated ‘AP Potential’ reports, to identify enrollment disparities and uncover gatekeeping practices. These data informed targeted interventions, such as training trusted adults to encourage students, implementing universal screening and automatic enrollment policies, and using personalized outreach to combat barriers to participation.
Data also became the catalyst for changing mindsets, not only expanding educators’ expectations of students—a crucial lever for raising postsecondary attainment—but also for students to recognize their own potential.
The results show that with intentional strategies and targeted support, districts can move the needle on enrollment in advanced coursework.
Data also became the catalyst for changing mindsets, not only expanding educators’ expectations of students—a crucial lever for raising postsecondary attainment—but also for students to recognize their own potential.
Cadre participation led to measurable gains in advanced coursework enrollment across all three participating districts. In M-DPCS, AP participation for Black students rose to 53% from 32%, and dual enrollment increased by more than 170% at one school. In OCPS, schools saw significant jumps in Cambridge Advanced program enrollment, including one school that went from zero to 52% participation in just one year. DCPS reported increases in AP exam success, with one school seeing a 124% rise in students scoring a 3 or higher. Across districts, participants described a shift in school culture, with educators rethinking who belongs in advanced courses and students gaining new confidence in their potential.
“Our collaboration through the Opportunity Cadre has been instrumental in reshaping our approach to advanced coursework, ensuring more students have the opportunity to excel,” one district leader says.