The Messenger
March 8, 2005
MCC president 'elated' by allocation
Madisonville Community College appears poised to make a trade-in — an
old “trade school” facility for a new Energy and Advanced Technology
Center.
Dr. Judy Rhoads, MCC president, said she’s “elated” with the
$14 million budget allocation for the facility from the General Assembly’s
budget conference committee.
“The center will make a great difference in recruiting businesses, as
well as recruiting students to go into technical careers,” she said. “We
hope to declare victory after the House and Senate vote, and the governor has
his veto.”
The House and Senate are expected to take final action on the budget today.
The budget gives the college up to $16 million in spending authority on the
project. If costs go that high, local contributors would have to raise the $2
million difference.
College officials describe the 35-year-old facility as antiquated.
Estimated cost of building the new 54,348-square-foot facility is $15 million.
It would have flexible classroom space, laboratories, exhibit space to house
technical projects under development, and interactive television and online
training areas. It will be named for Madisonville businessman Brown Badgett
Sr., in honor of his $1.2 million gift to the Fulfilling the Promise campaign.
“After I found out that we were in the budget for $14 million, I called
Brown Badgett as soon as I could,” Rhoads said. “He was elated and
very, very happy that our facility was in the budget.”
The Energy and Advanced Technology Center ranks No. 1 on the Madisonville-Hopkins
County Chamber of Commerce priority list.
“We’re very thrilled,” said Executive Director Lisa Miller.
“We think it’s going to make a big difference in the work force we’re
going to be able to train, and (who will) stay and work in Hopkins County.”
Just last week, the Chamber’s Leadership Hopkins County class visited
the technical campus as it covered the topic, “Challenges in Education.”
“I think that no matter how often they hear about how badly we needed
the technology center, until a person goes in and sees it ... a picture’s
worth a thousand words,” Miller said.
Once final approval is received, college officials plan to hold roundtable
discussions with CEOs of area companies to discuss needs now and in the future,
Rhoads said. Architect selection will likely begin in July, with planning and
construction expected to take about three years.
Rhoads expressed her appreciation to state Sen. Jerry Rhoads (her husband),
and state Reps. Eddie Ballard, Jim Gooch and Brent Yonts for their support of
the facility.
“Also, we’ve had great community support from the Chamber, economic
development, city and county government and the executives from the mining companies
from the area,” she said.
The planned technology centers in Owensboro and Henderson received $13 million
funding each.
“The governor does have a vision for economic development and for energy
management within the state and nation,” Rhoads said. “He’s very
much for the energy component and for the technology center in Madisonville.
We’re really pleased with that.”
The need for the project was stressed by Hopkins County Schools Superintendent
James Lee Stevens when he visited Frankfort last week to talk with Ballard,
Sen. Rhoads and General Assembly staff members.
“We realize the economic development potential for Hopkins County,”
Stevens said. “We’re hopeful that through this, and this was my plea
with the legislative people ... this facility is somewhat outdated for the technical
college but it certainly can benefit Hopkins County Schools and other educational
programs in Hopkins County.”
The building once belonged to the school district when it was an area vocational
school. District officials are now interested in the possibility of resuming
ownership.
Alternatives being considered for the site include Adolescent Day Treatment,
an expanded preschool program and the education programs currently at the old
Hall Street school.
“Even though it is old, it has a lot of potential,” Stevens said,
adding that some renovations would be necessary.
Somerset Commonwealth Journal
March 6, 2005
President’s budget deals crushing blow to workforce training in Kentucky
Somerset Community College stands to lose nearly $1 million in
funding
President Bush delivered a crushing blow to Kentucky’s workforce and Somerset
Community College in his $2.6 trillion budget by eliminating the Carl D. Perkins
Vocational and Technical Education program, among other education programs.
The 2006 budget requested no funding for Perkins, eliminated a total of 48 education
programs, and slashed education funding for the first time in 10 years.
“As you know, SCC has recently added four new buildings: two in Pulaski
County, one in Laurel County, and one in Clinton County. The funds to purchase
the state-of-the-art technical equipment, which we use to teach our students
came, in part, from the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education program.
With the continuous improvements being made in the fields of computers and technology,
it is imperative that Somerset Community College have access to the money available
under the Carl Perkins program,” said Dr. Jo Marshall, President of Somerset
Community College.
At Somerset Community College, the cuts would eliminate $968,881 in funding
for workforce development, vocational education training, and college readiness
programs.
The cuts would eliminate $685,888 in Perkins funds and $282,993 for adult basic
education programs.
Perkins funding for Somerset Community College allows for new developments
and improvements in technical programming. These funds are used to supply current,
state-of-the-art technology in order to provide workers with the skills needed
by Kentucky’s industries. This past year SCC has used $142,700 in Perkins
funding to purchase equipment to teach students.
For example, the College is expanding its Cosmetology Program. In addition
to teaching Cosmetology in London, the College has used its Perkins funds to
buy the equipment necessary to add the program in Somerset. More than $54,000
in Perkins funds was used to purchase updated computer hardware for the college.
Other Perkins money was used to buy new software licenses used in fields such
as SCC’s health careers programs.
“It is critical in today’s rapidly changing world that SCC have the
money necessary to keep our equipment up to date and to help in starting up
new training opportunities for our students,” Marshall said.
The Perkins program, named in honor of U.S. Rep. Carl D. Perkins of Kentucky,
was established to provide individuals with the academic and technical skills
needed to succeed. A native of Hindman, Rep. Perkins presided over the Education
and Labor Committee from 1967-84. He was instrumental in the passage of the
Vocational Education Act of 1963, the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.
In addition to the Perkins funding, the 2006 budget request from the Bush administration
proposes the elimination of several programs designed to help prepare low-income
students for college such as GEAR-UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness
for Undergraduate Programs), Upward Bound and Talent Search.
Funds received through GEAR UP allow Somerset Community College to work in
partnership with local middle and high schools such as Somerset High School,
Pulaski County High School, Southwestern High School, Russell County High School,
Lincoln County High School, Rockcastle County High School, McCreary Central
High School, Wayne County High School, Monticello High School, Clinton County
High School, North Laurel High School and South Laurel High School. The program
provides counseling for low-income families on career and college opportunities,
and strengthens academic programs and student services so that graduates are
prepared academically and financially to enter college.
Upward Bound and Talent Search, which are part of the federal TRIO programs
for disadvantaged students, serve young people in grades six through 12. In
addition to counseling, participants receive information on college admissions
requirements, scholarships and various student financial aid programs. Over
the past several years, Somerset Community College, in partnership with the
Clinton County Board of Education, has provided a summer program to Clinton
County Middle School students to encourage their thinking about and planning
for higher education.
“Somerset Community College has a number of programs aimed at helping
underserved students overcome any barriers to success in college. For example,
we offer developmental classes, which prepare students for college level study.
AT SCC, we have the unique STAR program, which gives students one-on-one access
to our faculty for special tutoring. It would be tragic if we could no longer
provide these students with the help they need,” Marshall said.
For specific impacts of proposed funding cuts on individual colleges, please
visit http://www.kctcs.edu/newspublications/releases/Funding2004.htm
The Kentucky Post
March 2, 2005
Gateway's fingers crossed
College optimistic about getting more money from state
Gateway Community and Technical College officials are slightly more optimistic
than they've been in recent years about getting more money from the state to
help the college grow.
Although the state legislature has yet to approve a final budget, the House
earmarked $14 million to expand Gateway's Edgewood campus, and the Senate allocated
$15.4 million for the project.
And both budget plans propose an extra $11 million a year beyond normal operating
funding to the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. If that money
remains in the budget, it will be divided among the system's schools.
It's possible Gateway might receive a higher share than most other community
colleges because it is among several schools that haven't been adequately funded
in recent years to meet rapid growth. Such extra funding would help Gateway
open its new Mount Zion campus in Boone County.
While state funding is still far short of what Gateway officials feel they
need, they're pleased that more money appears headed their way after three straight
years of state funding cuts to higher education.
However, they're reserving a final opinion until final passage of the budget.
"We're hopeful, and we're encouraged that we will see an infusion of additional
dollars to help us meet the mandate of going from a technical college to a comprehensive
community college," said Gateway Vice President Charles Stebbins. "But,
until it happens, we won't celebrate."
Stebbins singled out freshman Rep. Addia Wuchner for introducing budget amendments
that specifically earmarked extra money for Gateway.
"Although special funding for Gateway wasn't included in the budget, Rep.
Wuchner did make that effort," he said.
Wuchner said even though she knew her effort had little chance, "I wanted
to highlight Gateway's needs and keep them on the radar screen."
The Florence Republican said she's been impressed with the school.
"Both Gateway and Northern Kentucky University are adding to the strength
and promise of our region," she said.
The expansion of Gateway's Edgewood campus is expected to boost the school's
popular health services curriculum.
The campus is adjacent to St. Elizabeth Hospital, which has a working and teaching
agreement with Gateway.
"The expansion would triple our space and make it possible for Gateway
to do a whole lot more with allied health programs, which are very much needed,"
said Stebbins.
For operating funds, Gateway President Edward Hughes said the school's current
annual budget of $8.7 million is $2 million short of what is needed to serve
its 3,000 students. Stebbins said Gateway is looking to its parent organization
for help.
"Gateway is one of the lowest funded colleges, so if they have the opportunity,
I feel we can count on them for some help," he said. "KCTCS has a
funding model that will give more attention to new and growing colleges like
Gateway."
Ken Walker, KCTCS vice president for finance, said that while the funding formula
that would help Gateway "is a nice model, it only works when more state
money is allocated."
"The state has come through three consecutive years of significant revenue
shortfalls and that translated into three consecutive years of budget cuts and
that included KCTCS and Gateway," said Walker.
"If there is new state revenue provided to KCTCS, then it will give an
extra measure of funding to Gateway. It would provide some badly needed operational
money for the new Mount Zion campus."
The first building on the new campus in Boone County is nearing completion,
but Gateway officials have been worried about having enough money to open and
operate it.
Walker estimated that the legislature might send an extra $50 million to the
Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and Stebbins estimated the council
might send $11 million of that to KCTCS.
That would only enable the system to regain some of the $18 million it was
cut in the last three years, Walker said. "But, it would be a start,"
he said.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 8, 2005
Community Colleges Should Rely More on Institutional Research, Conference
Panelists Say
Institutional-research offices at community colleges should have stronger relationships
with faculty members and should play much bigger leadership roles on their campuses,
according to panelists in a session at the League for Innovation in the Community
College's Innovations 2005 conference here.
Most important, said Robert Gabringer, dean of research and planning at the
City College of San Francisco, state legislators and education officials should
make a priority of beefing up the roles of institutional-research offices, so
that their importance becomes ingrained.
Mr. Gabringer's remarks came in response to findings from a study by the Community
College Research Center at Teachers College, which is part of Columbia University.
The study, which attracted responses from 85 two-year colleges, found that 20
percent of institutional-research offices reported having only some faculty
involvement with projects, while 25 percent reported little to no faculty involvement.
Mr. Gabringer said that many faculty members shy away from data-based analyses
of their courses and their students' success rates because they view data as
weapons that can be used against them.
Yet research offices "can not solely be a function of what the president
and the trustees want," he said. "There should be a direct relationship
with faculty in order to help with learning assessment."
Many institutional-research offices at community colleges have only recently
been established, in response to increased calls for accountability from state
lawmakers and to the reporting requirements of some federal programs.
The Teachers College study is part of a project of the Lumina Foundation for
Education that is looking at ways to improve educational outcomes for minority
students at community colleges. It also found that the biggest priority for
many research offices is "college management" -- which includes things
like helping colleges prepare for accreditation visits -- rather than true qualitative
research.
The offices could do a lot more, Mr. Gabringer said.
"We need to build a generation of researchers who can provide leadership
as well as support," Mr. Gabringer said, "who can help colleges fulfill
their missions."
The study also found that:
Fewer than half -- 39 percent -- of such offices tracked the number of students
who transfer to other colleges and universities.
Only 11.8 percent used market-research data to identify prospective students.
Nineteen percent of responding colleges had no full-time position in institutional
research.
Eighty-four percent said they needed more institutional-research staff members
to improve their effectiveness.
Forty percent said their institutional-research departments had been established
with in the past decade, and half of those had been established since the year
2000.
Inside Higher Education
March 8, 2005
A New Path for 18 Year Olds
Community colleges have long been known as a popular destination for adult
students seeking a higher education. But a new U.S. Education Department study
shows the extent to which two-year institutions are having an increasing impact
on traditional-aged undergraduates.
As of 2001, people under the age of 22 constituted 42 percent of all credit-seeking
students at community colleges, according to the report, an executive summary
of which is available on the Education Department's Web site. In addition, those
under the age of 24 constituted three-fourths of first-time community college
students.
These figures, which represent increases over data from previous surveys, reflect
the changing nature of community colleges in an era in which many public four-year
colleges have increased tuition substantially while increasing admissions requirements
or limiting enrollment. Clifford Adelman, a senior research analyst at the Education
Department, wrote that he was trying to paint a more complete picture of who
these students are so that both educators and policy makers can understand them.
Adelman based his findings on examinations of long-term records about thousands
of students as they passed through various levels of the educational system.
Among his findings:
- Forty percent of traditional-age students who entered higher education in
the 1990s started out in community colleges.
- For students 24 and older who are starting their higher educations, 60 percent
enroll first at community colleges. These students are more likely than other
community college students to think of themselves as working adults, not students.
These students are also less likely to transfer to four-year institutions.
- With the exception of Latinos, traditional-age minority students are no
more likely than white students to start at a community college.
- Slightly more than half of what Adelman calls "belated bachelors"
-- students who first aspire to earn a bachelor's degree -- start their higher
education at community colleges.
- Of 12th graders in 1992 who went on to enter higher education at a community
college, and who earned more than 10 credits at a community college, 37 percent
transferred to a four-year institution by the end of 2000, and of those who
transferred, 60 percent had earned a bachelor's degree by that time.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
March 8, 2005
The Early-College Experiment
High-school programs that offer low-income students personal
instruction and postsecondary degrees are rife with good intentions and challenges
Each day LaQuinton Archie rides a bus to a half-vacant office building here
on Brown Street. He takes the elevator to the third floor and sits down at a
table under long rows of fluorescent lights.
This 70,000-square-foot space bears little resemblance to a traditional classroom.
There are no chalkboards, no desks, and no walls. Yet this is where Mr. Archie,
16, comes to learn.
His makeshift school is the Dayton Early College Academy, which enrolls 170
students, beginning with ninth graders, from low-income families and lets them
earn up to two years of college credit, or an associate degree, while also earning
a high-school diploma. The academy, which the University of Dayton helped open
in 2003, is one of about 50 early-college schools nationwide. Students in the
programs take college courses on college campuses, where most of the schools
are located. Drawing mostly black and Hispanic students from public secondary
schools, the early-college programs are designed to keep students from dropping
out and to give them more personal attention than they would receive at a traditional
high school.
Academe has been quick to support early-college high schools, and some administrators
tout the programs as potential pipelines to qualified minority applicants who
should require few or no remedial courses once they completely enter the wider
world of a four-year institution. The programs are expected to work in a way
that is almost counterintuitive: They take students who may be below grade level
and try to slingshot them ahead with a combination of extra support and challenging
work.
The schools are also backed by substantial philanthropic muscle. Since 2001,
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other charitable organizations have
donated more than $124-million to the ventures. In December the Gates Foundation
decided on a major expansion of the schools and expects to finance more than
170 by 2008. "By compressing the number of years needed to receive an associate's
degree and eliminating the physical transition between high school and college,"
the foundation's Web site says, "these schools have the potential to dramatically
improve high school and college graduation rates."
Like many philanthropic experiments, however, the ventures are exercises in
uncertainty. Most of the schools are too new to have a measurable record of
success, and preliminary assessments of the students' progress are mixed. The
programs lack a standard structure and curriculum, and some instructors say
they must make up their lesson plans as they go along. While nobody doubts the
schools' good intentions, some educators say it is difficult to anticipate the
long-term impact of this strategy for creating a shortcut to college.
"It's like trying to build a bridge without a clear blueprint," says
Michael W. Kirst, a professor of education and business administration at Stanford
University who studies elementary- and secondary-education reform. "I applaud
the people trying to do it, but frankly, I have no idea what will come of it."
Yet administrators at the University of Dayton have high hopes for students
like Mr. Archie, who plans to go to college and become a lawyer or a psychiatrist.
Dayton officials hope that the school, which is just across the street from
the campus, will help students from poor urban neighborhoods acclimate to college
life.
After all, to many students here, college has long seemed unreachable. Most
have come from a public-school system that ranks among the worst in the state.
Although they are reading short stories by Anton Chekhov, some have not mastered
basic grammar skills. Few have parents with postsecondary degrees.
"Everybody I know, they didn't go" to college, says Mr. Archie. "I
want to be different."
'Making Them Want To Learn'
The first early college was founded in 1966 by Elizabeth Blodgett Hall, a former
headmistress of a private girls' school, in Concord, Mass., who believed that
students faced too few academic challenges in their last years of high school.
Ms. Hall created Simon's Rock College, in Great Barrington, Mass., a private,
residential college where affluent students received a liberal-arts education
and graduated with an associate degree. In 1974 the college began to offer bachelor's
degrees as well, and in 1979 it became part of Bard College, in Annandale-on-Hudson,
N.Y.
About that time some educators in New York City had decided that low-income
minority students who had yet to reach their academic potential deserved a similar
opportunity. In 1976 the City University of New York and the New York City Board
of Education created Middle College High School at LaGuardia Community College.
Located on the LaGuardia campus, Middle College High School, a public school,
now enrolls 470 students, the majority of whom are black and Hispanic, and allows
them to take 6 to 12 college credits by the time they earn their high-school
diplomas. Three years ago Middle College made its curriculum more rigorous by
allowing some students to earn an associate degree in four to five years while
still in high school, and it also started receiving support from the Gates Foundation.
About 65 percent of the students in this year's incoming class at Middle College
are below grade level in reading and math. Yet school officials say the program
has been a success: Of the roughly 110 students in the high school's freshman
class five years ago, 65 percent have graduated from high school, and of those,
97 percent went on to college last year.
Proponents of early colleges say national dropout rates for black and Hispanic
students show a pressing need exists for more such innovative schools. According
to a study released in 2005, commissioned by the Gates Foundation and conducted
by the Manhattan Institute, a New York think tank, nationwide 78 percent of
white students in the class of 2002 graduated from high school, compared with
only 56 percent of black students and 52 percent of Hispanic students.
The study also found that in 2002 just over one third of students who had entered
ninth grade in public schools graduated with both a diploma and the skills needed
to apply to a four-year college. Forty percent of white students were academically
prepared for college when they graduated from high school, compared with only
23 percent of black students and 20 percent of Hispanic students.
"A lot of the kids are simply not being challenged," says Thomas
J. Lasley II, dean of the School of Education and Allied Professions at the
University of Dayton. "It's not that they're not bright. The environment
is not conducive to making them want to learn."
High Hopes
In the fall of 2002, Mr. Lasley saw an opportunity to change that environment
when the KnowledgeWorks Foundation, a Cincinnati-based nonprofit organization,
approached him with the idea of starting an early-college high school in Dayton.
The public school would become a partnership between the University of Dayton
and the Dayton Public Schools. KnowledgeWorks, with financial support from Gates,
helped set up the program, which will receive $400,000 a year until 2006, when
it is to rely on money from other charitable foundations and increased state
support.
The idea intrigued officials at Dayton, a Roman Catholic institution with a
long history of community service. Daniel J. Curran, the university's president,
says the early-college program fits well with the university's social-justice
mission, which dates back to the institution's founding in 1850 by the Society
of Mary.
Mr. Lasley helped hire the school's teachers, and he designed the curriculum
with professors from the University of Dayton's education school. He estimates
that the university has invested $225,000 -- in cash, staff and faculty time,
and other resources -- in the program.
Dayton officials see the partnership as a way to make their campus more diverse.
A selective institution at which the average SAT score of entering freshmen
is close to 1200, the University of Dayton has struggled to attract minority
students. Of the 1,800 freshmen enrolled last year, all but 60 were white.
Eventually the institution hopes to award 50 scholarships each year to students
at the academy, where 80 percent of the enrollees are African-American. Administrators
anticipate that exposing the students to the campus ahead of time will make
them less likely to drop out after they matriculate.
Mr. Lasley bases his confidence on the school's unusual setup. To enroll, students
must be entering their first year of ninth grade, no older than 15, able to
read at least at the sixth-grade level, and committed to their education. Guidance
counselors and teachers typically refer students to the program. Parents sign
an agreement form in which they promise to attend school functions and monitor
their child's work at home.
There is no charge to attend the academy. There are no set class periods: Students
can stay on a subject until they understand the material. The school offers
no varsity sports, but students can join teams at the public school they would
normally attend.
Although police officers took a student who had confronted a teacher out in
handcuffs last year, the school has no metal detectors or security officers.
The big open floor, divided by cubicles, feels perfectly safe.
To give students a sense of ownership of their environment, the academy pays
a group of them to vacuum and empty trash cans each day.
"Students become so tied to the school emotionally -- they know it matters
if they come to school," says Judy Hennessey, the school's principal. Indeed,
Dayton Early College Academy has a 97-percent attendance rate, compared with
86 percent at Dayton's public high schools. "Here they can't hide, and
they certainly aren't anonymous," Ms. Hennessey says.
Students who qualify for college-level work take classes at no charge at the
University of Dayton and at nearby Sinclair Community College, where they receive
letter grades.
At the academy, students must pass six "gateways" to earn a high-school
diploma. To pass the first, students must fulfill 12 requirements, like reading
at least one book, achieving a 95-percent attendance rate, and preparing for
the PSAT.
Nearly two years after the school opened, 49 academy students are taking at
least one class at Sinclair Community College. But the majority of students,
including Mr. Archie, the aspiring lawyer-psychiatrist, have yet to complete
their first gateway. Dayton Early College Academy officials had hoped more of
the the students would be further along by now. Yet they say the slow start
is not surprising because many of the students have significant learning gaps
that challenge their ability to do high-school work.
Mr. Archie is ambivalent about not having taken a college class. "I want
to take it because it's a good opportunity," he says. "But I don't
want to take it, because it'll put more work on me."
'A Good Start'
Accelerating the education of underprivileged high-school students concerns
some educators, who contend that there is too little research on early-college
schools to justify their rapid growth.
Gerardo M. Gonzalez, dean of the School of Education at Indiana University
at Bloomington, questions the unanticipated consequences of depriving students
of the traditional four-year campus experience. He believes secondary schools
should emphasize college-preparation without trying to create a replacement
for college.
"College is more than just mastering a set of academic courses,"
Mr. Gonzalez says. It's "also a time to develop as a person and come in
contact with new ideas and people."
Supporters say that the shortage of data on early colleges should not prevent
educators from establishing the schools. "I don't think we have the luxury
of trying to play it out the old traditional way," says Timothy Nealon,
who came out of retirement to serve as Dayton Early College Academy's first
principal, until he stepped down in December. "The classic model of remediation
just doesn't work. I believe in my heart if the child makes the personal commitment
to learn and they are pushed in this process, we can expect more from them."
Harvard University's Graduate School of Education is in the midst of conducting
the first major study of the impact of early-college schools on students' attitudes
about college. Supported by the Gates Foundation, the study will attempt to
measure the success of both the Dayton Early College Academy and the Accelerated
School, an early-college school in Los Angeles.
So far, in surveys and interviews, the students at Dayton Early College Academy
have shown more interest in higher education than their peers in urban public
high schools, says Michael J. Nakkula, an assistant professor of education at
Harvard and the study's lead researcher.
"They had occupation aspirations that required more education than students
we typically administer these surveys to," Mr. Nakkula says. "All
this suggests to us the schools are off to a good start."
According to data from the Gates Foundation, early-college high schools report
an average attendance and promotion rate (students passing a grade and moving
on to the next) at above 90 percent. Many ninth graders at the schools enroll
in one to two college-level courses, in which they earn C's or better.
Early-college supporters acknowledge that the model does not fit every student.
But Tom Vander Ark, executive director of education for the Gates Foundation,
is optimistic. The schools, he says, demonstrate that "with the appropriate
preparation and support, low-income kids can succeed in a rigorous curriculum,
the kind of curriculum that suburban white kids have had increasing access to
for years."
Classroom Challenges
Jasmine Hamilton says that Dayton Early College Academy gave her the push she
needed. A quiet teenager who often sports a short ponytail, she attended two
charter schools, two public schools, and a Catholic school before enrolling
in Dayton Early College Academy in 2003. She could not wait to leave her last
school, where she once saw a student throw a chair at a teacher.
When her favorite teacher there handed her a brochure about Dayton Early College
Academy, she jumped at the opportunity. "I wanted to come here specifically
because of the college classes," she says. "I knew that college was
going to be a lot of work and lots of money so I figured if I do a lot of it
now it'll lighten the load up later."
Ms. Hamilton seems well on her way to lightening that load. She has almost
finished her second gateway and is taking an American history and a western-civilization
course at Sinclair Community College this quarter.
She hopes to study law at Harvard University. A dinosaur enthusiast, she is
also interested in Yale University's archaeology program. Spelman College is
on her list, too.
Her mother, Re Annita Latham, says Jasmine did well academically at her previous
schools. But when Ms. Latham gave her standardized tests to measure what Jasmine
had learned, she concluded that her daughter had not mastered many subjects.
"She really didn't have the fundamentals," Ms. Latham says.
She is pleased with Dayton Early College Academy so far and notes that Jasmine
is no longer bored at school. "Now she's actually challenged," Ms.
Latham says. "She's like, 'What time is dinner? Because I've got to do
my homework.'"
Jason L. Harrison only wishes that more of Ms. Hamilton's classmates did their
homework, too. A social-studies teacher at Dayton Early College Academy, Mr.
Harrison says that some of his students have adult responsibilities, like taking
care of younger siblings, that prevent them from completing their assignments.
For others, he says, school is just not that important.
A former Central Intelligence Agency analyst, Mr. Harrison quit his job in
Washington two years ago to teach at the academy, which is not far from where
he grew up. He says he believed the school's innovative approach to teaching
would allow him to help students more than he could have at a regular high school.
But Mr. Harrison is constantly surprised by what his students do not know.
Many of them are interested in learning, he says, but "they just don't
have the terminology."
On a Wednesday morning in January, the challenges he faces in the classroom
are evident. After a group of students gives an oral report, he encourages them
to improve their grammar, reminding them not to say "mine's" or "more
better." Otherwise, he says, "your audience might not take you as
seriously."
Next he and the students read a New York Times article on China's booming economy
for the morning's lesson. One student asks if China and Japan are the same thing.
Another slumps forward, asleep.
By early afternoon, though, the slumbering student is awake and hard at work
on an essay about "The Darling," a short story by Chekhov. Mr. Harrison
sits beside him, offering advice.
"We're here," the teacher says later, "to make this person so
excited about learning that they'd never think of sleeping."
Whether early-college high schools are the wake-up call that helps more underprivileged
students get to college may depend on the success of hundreds of Mr. Harrisons.
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