Indian Springs School has received the 2009 Siemens Award for Advanced Placement, which honors schools that lead their state in AP participation and performance in math and science.

The Siemens Foundation and the College Board announced the nation’s 50 award winners Feb. 19. ISS will receive a $1,000 grant from the Siemens Foundation to support math and science education.

ISS is the first Alabama independent school and the only Alabama high school to receive this year’s Siemens Award.

“In a pool of extremely strong applicants from your state, your school’s commitment to providing your students opportunities to explore the AP program and your staff’s dedication to student success were evident,” wrote Diane Tsukamaki, director of the College Board’s National Recognition and Scholarship Programs, in a letter to ISS Director Gareth Vaughan. “We believe high schools like yours represent the best of American education.”

Vaughan said ISS’ advances in AP math and science is evidenced by student participation in the school’s Proteins in Space program with University of Alabama at Birmingham Professor Larry DeLucas and sustainable development courses built around the Fertile Minds Learning Garden, ISS’ organic garden and outdoor learning laboratory.

“I am very proud of our faculty and students for their achievement in AP math and science,” he said. “But if anything, I am even more proud of how our AP involvement helps stimulate the development of other exciting educational experiences.”

ISS offers seven AP courses: Biology, Calculus, Chemistry, Environmental Science and Physics.