Missouri's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 13th Annual National Awards Program

Advanced Placement Results - Missouri

More than 15 percent of the public high school class of 2007 achieved at least one AP® Exam grade of 3 or higher—the score that is predictive of college success. This achievement represents a significant and consistent improvement since the class of 2002 when less than 12 percent of public school graduates attained this goal.

In its fourth annual "AP Report to the Nation," the College Board (the not-for-profit membership association that owns and administers the AP Program), focuses on educators' quantifiable successes in helping a wider segment of the nation's students gain access to and achieve success in college-level work. Of the estimated 2.8 million students who graduated from U.S. public schools in 2007, almost 426,000 (15.2 percent) earned an AP Exam grade of at least a 3 on one or more AP Exams during their high school tenure, the report documents. This is up from 14.7 percent in 2006 and 11.7 percent in 2002.

Earning a 3 or higher on an AP Exam is one of "the very best predictors of college performance," with AP students earning higher college grades and graduating from college at higher rates than otherwise similar peers in control groups, according to recent reports from researchers.

State Reports:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/ap/nation

Full report:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/ap-report-to-the-nation-2008.pdf

Missouri Report:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Missouri-AP-Report-2008.pdf

Missouri's Top Two Youth Volunteers Selected in 13th Annual National Awards Program

Sedalia and Blue Springs students earn $1,000 awards, engraved medallions and trip to nation’s capital

Honors also bestowed on other top youth volunteers in Missouri

Kristen Allcorn, 18, of Sedalia and Nicholas Mozer, 13, of Blue Springs today were named Missouri's top two youth volunteers for 2008 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. The awards program, now in its 13th year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

Kristen was nominated by Smith-Cotton High School in Sedalia, and Nicholas was nominated by Moreland Ridge Middle School in Blue Springs. As State Honorees, each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion, and an all-expense-paid trip in early May to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees – one middle level and one high school youth – from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for several days of national recognition events. Ten of them will be named America’s top youth volunteers for 2008 at that time.

Kristen, a senior at Smith-Cotton High School, founded the Community Café, a table-service soup kitchen that has served close to 9,000 meals to needy residents since December 2006. While volunteering several times at a soup kitchen in Kansas City, “I fell in love with the idea of helping others through serving food,” said Kristen. “It is such a practical way to meet the tangible needs of people.” She began looking for similar volunteer opportunities closer to home, but couldn’t find any program that offered a free hot meal to the needy on a consistent basis. So she decided to start her own.

First, Kristen persuaded a building owner in town to donate space for her café. She then worked closely with the Central Missouri Food Bank to secure a steady supply of food donations. Kristen recruited volunteers from her school’s National Honor Society chapter and local civic organizations to prepare and serve the meals, and to clean up afterwards. As executive director, Kristen organizes food donations, plans meals, schedules and directs volunteers, registers diners, serves food, handles a great deal of administrative paperwork, and runs monthly board meetings. Today, the Community Café provides a hot evening meal to about 60 people five days a week, serving them at tables as if they were eating in a restaurant. “I walk away from the Community Café everyday with a sense of accomplishment,” said Kristen.

Nicholas, an eighth-grader at Moreland Ridge Middle School, helped his family raise more than $175,000 for pediatric cancer research over the past four years by operating lemonade stands throughout the Kansas City area. Nicholas’ brother, Jacob, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma as a baby. “Fortunately, he survived, but many other kids don’t,” said Nicholas. “I want them to have the same opportunity to live as he did.”

Nicholas’ family began selling lemonade when they learned about Alex Scott, a young cancer patient who founded a nationwide network of Alex’s Lemonade Stands. Each year, Nicholas not only sells and serves lemonade, but assists in recruiting hundreds of volunteers to run the family’s 24 lemonade stands over a two-day period. In addition, he created a slideshow presentation for the corporate sponsors, maintains a Web site, helps publicize the event, and helps out in other ways to make sure everything runs smoothly. “I still remember to this day what it was like getting through my brother’s cancer,” said Nicholas. “No one should suffer, and that is why I am working to cure this horrible disease.”

In addition, the program judges recognized six other Missouri students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion:

John Boatwright, 17, of Aurora, a senior at Aurora High School, constructed a black-granite memorial in a town square to honor two soldiers from Aurora who died while fighting in Iraq. John, who raised nearly $10,000 for the project, had the granite sand-blasted with a tribute in words and artwork, and erected two flagpoles alongside.

Chelsey Carter, 17, of St. Louis, a senior at John Burroughs School, volunteers with “Extra Hands for ALS,” an organization that sends volunteers to the homes of patients living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. In addition to being president of her school’s Extra Hands Club, Chelsey visits three ALS patients each week to help them with household chores, errands, and other services.

Maureen Mahon, 16, of Sunset Hills, a sophomore at Cor Jesu Academy in St. Louis and a member of Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri in St. Louis, has volunteered as a weekly music minister at her church, cooked and served food at a local soup kitchen, and worked as an assistant at a camp for children with mental and physical disabilities. She also hand-made 500 rosaries and donated them to Cuban missions.

Brittany Pyle, 18, of Lamar, a senior at Lamar High School, created and maintains a Web site for a local shelter to help find homes for stray and abandoned animals. In addition to keeping the site updated with photographs of animals and information about how to adopt them, Brittany provides foster care to animals until they are placed in permanent homes.

Frederick Savage, 18, of Conway, a senior at Conway High School, started a junior firefighter program three years ago at his local fire department to provide valuable experience and opportunities for those who are too young to serve as volunteer firefighters. In addition, he has completed many hours of fire and first-responder training and is now a certified volunteer firefighter.

John Seipel, 18, of Maryville, a senior at Maryville High School, played a leadership role in a volunteer group that persuaded the Maryville City Council to ban smoking in local restaurants. John gathered research on the issue and represented the group as spokesperson at council meetings and in media interviews.