For Howard High School students, next year’s Advanced Placement exams will not only mean the chance to earn college credits, but also money in their pockets.

As part of a national initiative announced Tuesday, Howard is one of just 28 schools in the country -- and the only high school in Georgia -- included in a grant designed to increase participation in AP classes. As part of that grant, students will get $100 each for every AP English, math or science class for which they get a passing score of 3, 4 or 5. Teachers of AP classes could earn $100 for each of their students who gets a passing score.

The grant, funded by the Northrop Grumman Corp. as part of the National Math and Science Initiative, is for at least $238,000 for three years, beginning with the 2011-12 academic year, Howard Principal Matt Adams said.

Adams said officials from the program began looking at schools located near Houston County about seven weeks ago and invited Howard to apply for the grant. After the school was evaluated, Howard employees, parents and students learned that their school would be a recipient about a week ago.

Tuesday’s announcement at the school followed a streamed news conference in which President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, as well as Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, announced an initiative called “Joining Forces.” It will have about 50 programs designed to aid families who have members serving in the military.

Though the overall program is designed to help military families, any Howard student can participate in the AP program and try for the reward.

The Advanced Placement program offers standardized courses to high school students that are generally recognized to be equivalent to undergraduate courses in college. Participating colleges give credit to students who score high enough on exams.

Currently, Howard has a very small percentage of students with military ties, Adams said. He estimated that about 10 students out of more than 1,000 at the school had immediate family members serving in the armed forces.

“This grant will help Howard refine our focus on increasing the academic rigor and opportunities for all students that enter our school,” Adams said. “By opening the door to Advanced Placement opportunities for our students, we will not only increase the number of students with passing scores, but also prepare them for greater postsecondary options and a brighter future. I believe that all students can achieve at higher levels than they are currently achieving.”

Adams said the grant will help in several areas: It will provide for national tutors to come in and conduct Saturday sessions with AP students. It will allow the school to purchase additional materials to help teach students taking AP courses. It will help provide additional training for AP teachers. And it will give opportunities for more students to participate in AP classes.

The grant covers only AP classes in English, math or science. AP courses in areas such as history or foreign languages aren’t part of the program.

Kevin Adams, who teaches AP statistics at Howard, said the grant is a great opportunity for the school.

“I know how much this means to our community,” he said. “Initially, it will increase the academic rigor at our school.”

He said many students don’t participate in AP classes because they are either intimidated or don’t want to put in the work that comes with the increased demands of such course work. He said he hopes the financial iincentive will help change that thinking.

Several Howard underclassmen who are already taking AP courses said they are excited about what the grant will provide.

“This is a great honor for the students and teachers,” said junior Shivam Patel, who is taking AP physics this year and plans to take AP classes in calculus, statistics and chemistry next year. “It’s a great opportunity to help students succeed. (The money) will push us to strive and build college credit.”

Sophomore Carolyn Krauss said she had planned on taking three AP classes next year before the grant announcement, but that the grant just “gave me more motivation to do so.”

Tandi Pressley, director of advanced academic programs for the Bibb County school system, said more than 900 students in the district take AP classes. The district has seen an increase in the number of AP exams in recent years, from 213 taken during the 2004-05 academic year to more than 1,000 across the district last year. Some students take more than one AP exam.

Howard now offers 12 AP classes, and about 250 students will take 319 AP exams in May. Last year, 29 students out of about 275 test takers received passing scores, Matt Adams said. The school has a goal of increasing that number to 71 next year when the grant money kicks in.

Howard will also get $25 for every student who takes an AP class, regardless of whether the student earns a passing score on the AP exam. The money amount is capped at $10,000.

Now, the school system pays for each student who takes an AP exam, which costs $87 each. The state also provides funding for AP exams, but just for one exam for each student who is economically disadvantaged, Pressley said.

School board President Tommy Barnes said other Bibb County schools have received grants in the past that helped their AP programs, but because Howard is still so new, it hasn’t had the opportunity to do so before now.

“We’ve always valued AP classes,” he said. “We’ve always supported them.”

To contact writer Phillip Ramati, call 744-4334.