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ST. LOUIS (AP) _ A former Missouri school superintendent who sharply increased the number of low-income and minority students in Advanced Placement classes is trying to do the same in three St. Louis-area schools.

Chris Belcher was trouble by the low number of low-income and minority students in AP classes in Columbia’s high schools, so in 2012 he worked with principals to change procedures for enrollment.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1tcFkre) reports that 239 additional low-income and minority students enrolled in AP courses that year.

Belcher now is a superintendent-in-residence for the nonprofit organization Equal Opportunity Schools, which worked with him to address the disparities in Columbia.

The Parkway, Ferguson-Florissant and Belleville Township High School districts have agreed to a yearlong partnership with EOS to expand AP opportunities for their students.