Palatine Project Excel wins attention

Palatine High School’s Project Excel program recently gained attention at a national presentation in Chicago that showcased the challenges faced and successes reached while growing the program and propelling its students to achieve their goals.

Palatine High School teachers Anita Lee and Asa Gordon, and counselor Susan Quinlan led a presentation entitled “Helping Students of Color Find a Voice with Rigor and Efficacy” at the Association for Supervision and Curricular Development 68th Annual Conference.

“Major studies throughout the years show that if a child has barriers, whether they are socioeconomic, class, race, or disability, they will need additional assistance,” Gordon said. “That is what Project Excel has done. We’re not unique because schools all over the country are facing the same problems, but we want to share what we’ve learned works or doesn’t, and also learn from others.”

Palatine High School Principal Gary Steiger approached Quinlan about presenting at the conference. She teamed up with Gordon and Lee.

Palatine High School’s Project Excel program aims to support and teach students of color to become resilient, hardworking, engaged learners in accelerated Advanced Placement (AP) courses.

“The kids are already talented, but Project Excel teaches them to be resilient, hardworking, and engaged learners,” Gordon said.