In the News…

Turner Chapel AME 2011 College Fair

August 28, 2011

Over 2,000 parents and students took advantage of the unique opportunity provided by the Turner Chapel AME 2011 College Fair. Colleges from the Ivy League, HBCUs, the U.S. Military Service Academies, and local Community Colleges were represented. Students and parents from 8 public school districts and many private schools were able to speak firsthand with college representatives. Financial aid information and information about the application process to the U.S. Military Service Academies was also available. Not only were students able to receive information from over 50 colleges and universities, some colleges allowed students to submit applications on the spot and waived application fees.

Representatives from SallieMae presented a financial aid and scholarship workshop, awarding one of the participants a $500 college scholarship. Some local high schools recognized the unique opportunity and well publicized the fair by making announcements and talking to students in advisory. Other high schools did little to share the information with students and the numbers showed. 18 local high schools accounted for over 50 percent of the students attending the fair, while many other local high schools did little to share information with students. Parents and students must understand that some high schools do a great deal to prepare students for college while other high schools are only concerned with ensuring that students graduate from high school. Which type of high school does your child attend.

Visiting several fairs, which are generally free to the public, can save a student hundreds of dollars in application fees and demystify the college admissions process. Speak with your high school counselor and identify the local college fairs in your area. The National Association for College Admission Counseling sponsors college fairs nationally, the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation has a listing of college fairs, and The New England Association for College Admission Counseling has a listing of college fairs. The CollegeBoard offers tips on what to do before and after the fair.

Contact us to find out how your church, community organization, or school may do more to prepare students for college.

If you missed the fair, watch the video…

Pick a Box!

August 26, 2011

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is an important effort to move states in the direction of developing a common curriculum and shared expectations in what students should learn, know, and be able to do. The initiative states:

“Building on the excellent foundation of standards states have laid, the Common Core State Standards are the first step in providing our young people with a high-quality education. It should be clear to every student, parent, and teacher what the standards of success are in every school.

Teachers, parents and community leaders have all weighed in to help create the Common Core State Standards. The standards clearly communicate what is expected of students at each grade level. This will allow our teachers to be better equipped to know exactly what they need to help students learn and establish individualized benchmarks for them. The Common Core State Standards focus on core conceptual understandings and procedures starting in the early grades, thus enabling teachers to take the time needed to teach core concepts and procedures well—and to give students the opportunity to master them.

With students, parents and teachers all on the same page and working together for shared goals, we can ensure that students make progress each year and graduate from school prepared to succeed in college and in a modern workforce.”

However, the real challenges of teaching and learning will not change, nor will they be solved by simply adopting a common curriculum. Teachers will still have to teach effectively and students will still have to apply themselves to learning what is being taught. In this regard, my starting point as a teacher is not to begin with telling students what I am going to teach, but asking students where they want to go, in essence, “Pick a Box.” This illustration outlines the general choices after high school that every young person will be confronted with, e.g., will you go to work, go to college, or enlist into the military? The salary is the median salary for each level of education, i.e., high school diploma, 4-year college degree, graduate degree, etc. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010).

Raising this question and getting students to affirm where they believe that they wan to go is as important for the kindergartener as it is for the twelfh-grader, perhaps even more so. The kindergarten student who affirms that he or she wants to become a doctor has 12 years to place learning within that context. He or she must apply his or herself to math and science, not to simply learn, but to know! If he or she is affirming that he or she wants to pursue a law degree, then developing language, critical thinking, debate, and an expanded vocabulary makes sense long before he or she begins prepping for the SAT or ACT as a high school student.

Once we better understand where students think that students want to go, then we can better connect them to the curriculum, albeit the Common State Standards or what is currently being taught. Interestingly, the vast majority of students affirm that they want to attend college as they enter elementary school, however, few students are prepared for college as they exit high school. The conversation is long overdue… “Pick a Box!”

Download the Slide…

Download the Illustration…

 

The importance of low-income students making the right college choice

August 22, 2011

The Education Trust Report, “Priced Out: How the Wrong Financial-Aid Policies Hurt Low-Income Students,” reveals how important college choices are for low-income students, and unfortunately, how those choices vary by state. The report focuses on how much it costs low-income students to attend college after receiving available state, federal, and institutional financial aid. Of all the colleges and universities researched, only 5 were deemed to be affordable:

State universities are supposed to provide affordable postsecondary opportunities for state residents, however, the net cost to attend a public university varies widely depending on the state where students live. The net price for low-income students who are North Carolina residents to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is $2,366 per year while the cost for students who are South Carolina residents to attend the University of South Carolina-Columbia is $15,578 per year. The net price for low-income students who are Louisiana residents to attend Louisiana State University and A&M is $3,079 while the net price for students who are Alabama residents to attend the University of Alabama is $15, 216.

The report also notes, although elite private colleges like Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton keep prices relatively low for low-income students, at about $3,000, less than 15 percent of students attending such schools are from low income backgrounds. If students are to acquire a college-level education and avoid incurring a huge debt, they must receive greater guidance through the decision-making process of choosing a college where they stand the best chance of graduating, and, incurring the least amount of debt.

Helping Low Income Students Enter College

August 20, 2011

We have long known of the huge gap between low and upper income students, commonly referred to as the  “college-knowledge gap.” Not only must low income prepare themselves academically for college, they must navigate the college admissions maize with little support from both their homes and their schools. School counselors are overwhelmed with the sheer number of students whom they must coax through high school graduation that they frequently do not have sufficient time to provide adequate support to assist students researching colleges, applying for scholarships, or putting together college application packages (See the California Opportunity Report: Roadblocks to College).

Nonprofit foundations like ours, faith organizations, like Turner Chapel AME Church in Marietta, Georgia, and even booster clubs are stepping forward to provide needed assistance to students. Not only must students receive the necessary support to complete their college admission packages, students must be assisted with making the right college choice. The wrong choice could result in not only the student failing to receive his or her degree, but incurring thousands of dollars in debt.

Read article…

 

Reality Check!

August 19, 2011

The Wednesday, August 17 2011 edition of the Chicago Sun Times headline reads, “Illinois ACT scores: 3 in 4 NOT READY FOR COLLEGE.” However, the folk in Illinois may take some consolation in the fact that the same is true of student performance in most other states.

In a recent posting regarding the concept of “Backwards Mapping” I referred to student performance on the 2010 ACT. Unfortunately, there was little improvement in student performance on the 2011 ACT. English and Reading performance remained unchanged, Math performance increased 2 percentage points and Science performance increased 1 percentage point.

  • 66 percent of students were considered college-ready in English
  • 52 percent of students were considered college-ready in Reading
  • 45 percent of students were considered college-ready in Mathematics
  • 30 percent of students were considered college-ready in Science

The huge differences in the level of college readiness by race continued to be disappointing:

  • 41 percent of Asian students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • 31 percent of White students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • 15 percent of Pacific Islander students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • 11 percent of Native American students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • 11 percent of Hispanic students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • 4 percent of Black students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas

Although student performance is bad, it is worst when considered within the context of student postsecondary expectations. Following are the percentages of students demonstrating college-readiness in all areas and the percentages of students with aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher:

  • 41 percent of Asian students are college ready while 84 percent have aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher
  • 31 percent of White students are college ready while 85 percent have aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher
  • 15 percent of Pacific Islander students are college ready while 84 percent have aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher
  • 11 percent of Native American students are college ready while 78 percent have aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher
  • 11 percent of Hispanic students are college ready while 78 percent have aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher
  • 4 percent of Black students are college ready while 80 percent have aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher

Clearly, something is wrong! How can so many students go through high school with aspirations of pursuing a 4-year college degree or higher and so few students are graduating from high school ready for college? Either our high schools are out of touch with what will be required for their students to succeed in college, our teachers are teaching students less than what their subjects require for students to be ready for college, or our children are out of touch with how they should be applying themselves in their high school coursework so that they are ready for college (which is what they are claiming to want). Perhaps there is a perfect storm in which all of these are true?

Nevertheless, as I previously posted,

“If you are a parent of an elementary and middle school student, then you should get copies of the ACT and SAT sample tests. Ensure that your child is being introduced to the type of problem solving, language, vocabulary, and core content necessary to perform well on either the SAT or ACT. Compare what your child is expected to know on the tests with what he or she is learning in school. As more schools focus almost exclusively on preparing your child for grade-level and standardized tests, your child may be short changed when it comes to developing the broad range of critical thinking and reasoning skills that he or she will need to ensure that he or she is ready for college.”

Download 2011 ACT Scores

 

Backwards Mapping

August 13, 2011

I have long proposed the concept of “Backwards Mapping”—or starting with a future goal and working backwards. For example, students with a future career goal should be working backwards by identifying the level of education and type of training needed to pursue such a goal, students who may not have a particular career goal, but who have a goal of attending college should be identifying what will be required to be admitted to the type of college they are interested in attending (i.e., highly competitive, competitive, traditional, or open enrollment), what will be required to graduate from high school, what will be required in middle school to gain access to the level of high school course work that will best prepare students for college, and the type of elementary school experiences that will best assist a student in identifying the unique gifts and talents that may one day pave the way to a college scholarship.

Most elementary and middle school students with a goal of attending college will have to take either the SAT or ACT. I have always thought it odd, how little school districts have prepared such college-bound students for performing successfully on the SAT or ACT. In 2010, for all high school seniors taking the ACT (who were planning to go to college), only:

  • 66 percent of students were considered college-ready in English
  • 52 percent of students were considered college-ready in Reading
  • 43 percent of students were considered college-ready in Mathematics
  • 29 percent of students were considered college-ready in Science

There were also huge differences in the level of college readiness by race, with no racial group having over 50 percent of students being considered as college-ready:

  • Only 39 percent of Asian students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • Only 30 percent of White students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • Only 12 percent of Native American students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • Only 11 percent of Hispanic students demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas
  • Only 4 percent of Black students (that is only 4 out of every 100 high school seniors) demonstrated college-readiness in all subject areas

The type of thinking, reasoning, writing, and vocabulary needed to perform successfully on the SAT and ACT should be part of every college-bound student’s elementary-through-high school growth and development. Recently, the state of North Carolina announced that it is considering requiring all 11th-graders to take the ACT. However, we do not need for all 11th-graders to take the ACT—we already know how few 11th-graders are college ready. We need to engage more elementary and middle school students in the type of learning that will ensure, that, as 11th-graders, they will be prepared to perform well on the ACT and SAT, because we have done a good job preparing them for college.

If you are the parent of an elementary and middle school student, then you should get copies of the ACT and SAT sample tests. Ensure that your child is being introduced to the type of problem solving, language, vocabulary, and core content necessary to perform well on either the SAT or ACT. Compare what your child is expected to know on the SAT and ACT with what he or she is learning in school. As more schools focus almost exclusively on preparing your child for grade-level and standardized tests, your child may be short changed when it comes to developing the broad range of critical thinking and reasoning skills that he or she will have to draw upon as an 11th-grader taking the SAT or ACT, and, as a college freshman preparing for the next phase of his or her academic development.

Download 2010 ACT Scores

 

It Happened to Them

August 3, 2011

Marilyn Anderson Rhames, a science teacher at a charter school in Chicago, Il, shares extraordinary insight in her blog about how teachers oftentimes view their schools and the children whom they teach.

“I stumbled in onto life-changing conversation in the teacher’s lounge. The chatter was animated. A few teachers were reminiscing about their classroom horror stories at other schools: John dashed out of the classroom … Sarah threatened to jump out the window, again … Angel knocked over bookshelves in a fit of rage …. And in my desire to fit in and one-up the last tale, I began to share about the unbelievable dysfunction at my old school. Even though I hadn’t yet earned my teaching certificate, I felt like I had earned some stripes. I was persevering to educate the youth despite the insanity within the urban public school system. I was the heroine of the story, fearless and unafraid.

‘It happened to them,’ were the four words that shut me and the other teachers up. ‘It happened to them, not to you. You tell the stories like it’s some kind of entertainment, but it happened to them—the kids. They are the ones who 30 years from now will remember these stories with tears in their eyes.’

It was the middle school social studies teacher. He was a demur white man in his late 30s who often wore cardigans like Mr. Rogers. Until then he had kept silent, even as each story gave rise to a higher level of ridiculousness. He went on to explain that he, too, used to complain and feel like the victim until another teacher rebuked him with those words. He felt compelled to pass that wisdom on.”

This truth has haunted me for the past eight years I’ve been teaching. I am only glad that I got set straight early in my teaching career. Some teachers never seem to get it. You know this when their debates about education reform are centered around teacher rights, and not student rights. Teachers’ needs are important—I have a mortgage; I have a family; I would like to retire one day—but they are not the core issue. The mission is bigger than us. Educators and policymakers must boil the chatter down to two essential questions: To what degree will this policy enhance student learning and how will we know?

Read more…

 

The importance of music on reading, speaking, and learning

July 31, 2011

In two Stanford University studies, researchers have demonstrated how important split-second processing of sounds is to speaking and reading. Researchers have learned that mastering a musical instrument improves the way the human brain processes parts of spoken language. Research findings indicate that:

  • People with musical experience found it easier than non-musicians to detect small differences in word syllables
  • They also noted that musical training helps the brain work more efficiently in distinguishing differences between rapidly changing sounds that are essential to processing language
  • Musical training increases perception of sound pitches and verbal memory

Potential applications of the research are:

  • Improving speech processing in children stuggling with language and reading skills
  • Assisting seniors experiencing a decline in speech perception and verbal memory skills
  • Assisting people learning a second language
  • Improving the acoustic and phonetic skills needed for learning language and reading

The National Association for Music Education notes a broad range of benefits to students who have access to music education:

  • Secondary students who participated in band or orchestra reported the lowest lifetime and current use of all substances (alcohol, tobacco, illicit drugs)
  • Many colleges view participation in the arts and music as a valuable experience that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world around them
  • Schools with music programs have significantly higher graduation rates than do those without programs (90.2 percent as compared to 72.9 percent)
  • Students in high-quality school music programs score higher on standardized tests compared to students in schools with deficient music education programs
  • Students of music outperform non-arts students on the SAT
  • Nearly 100 percent of past winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science, and Technology (for high school students) play one or more musical instruments
  • Children in music training had significantly better verbal memory than students without such training
  • Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year
  • Playing a musical instrument significantly enhances the brainstem’s sensitivity to speech sounds

Read the report…

Unfortunately, current educational policy contributes to widening the achievement and college enrollment gaps between our children. Children from low-performing and low-income communities have less access to musical training, and instead attend schools oftentimes focused almost exclusively on raising test scores. In contrast, children from upper income communities, or who attend high-performing schools, are exposed to a broad range of vocal and instrumental music training. Subsequently, such children, through enhanced musical exposure, develop the cognitive, verbal, and memory skills that enable them to achieve higher test scores without having a specific focus on increasing test scores. Their resulting higher test scores, higher academic skills, and broader cultural and artistic exposure significantly expand their college and career options.

Our younger son has enjoyed learning to play the piano and guitar, although he did not begin formal lessons until the ninth grade for guitar and the tenth grade for piano. His tenth grade piano recital of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 17 in D minor Movement 3 “Tempest,” is a wonderful example of that adage, “It’s never too late.”

For those parents and students who find themselves stuck in low-performing schools or in schools with limited access to music programs, consider exploring opportunities through the music ministry at local faith organizations, after school programs, and summer camps.

Time to Take Charge!

July 29, 2011

Parents and students need to stop blindly going through K-12 education without doing the necessary research to identify the most appropriate colleges and careers. Whether or not students attend good high schools with well-informed counselors, the information is only a mouse click away:

Get connected and get informed!

How to serve “disconnected” youth

July 29, 2011

The American Youth Policy Forum paper, “Key Considerations for Serving Disconnected Youth” outlines the type of strategies needed to reach youth who have become “disconnected” from both education and productive employment. The report indicates that in the U.S., 3 out of every 10 students fail to earn a high school diploma and that 5.3 million 15-24 year-olds (16.4 percent of all such youth) are disconnected from both education and the work place at any given point in time. For youth from low-income households, 56 percent are among disconnected youth.

The paper suggests three important strategic approaches:

  1. Use data to better understand how to engage disconnected youth in matching educational outcomes and postsecondary plans to their needs
  2. Ensure that educational pathways are relevant to career options, academically rigorous, and adaptive to student needs
  3. Build cross-sector collaboration and partnerships to develop the services and support that such youth need

Our foundation, which has long recognized such needs and pursued such strategies, has learned that so many youth remain disconnected due to the refusal of schools and school districts to support such strategies.

Read the report…