Each year, many of the 15 million students enrolled in public secondary schools ask the same question: What's the point of staying in school if the choices are a minimum-wage job upon graduation or a minimum-wage job now?
These students have astutely recognized a pitiful paradigm for far too many students enrolled in public education institutions.
"Education is the key to success," proclaims the marketing of myriad organizations, companies and institutions. Yet, even high school dropouts are smart enough to read between the lines. If "education" is the key to success, then thousands of public schools are not educating students, as many of them graduate with worthless diplomas and a marketing mantra that dissipates along with the music from Pomp and Circumstance.
Stark data from the Department of Education, which governs the education of 50 million students, exposes the reality of public education and contradicts the public relations promotion.
Over 16,000 public schools -- roughly 17 percent of all public schools -- are considered "high-poverty" educational institutions that service student bodies. What's more, 76 to 100 percent of these schools qualify for free or reduced-price meals (a family of four earning less than $41K annually qualifies for reduced-price meals; less than $29K qualifies for free meals).
Increasing Poverty
The numbers of high-poverty schools increased from 12 percent at the turn of the millennium to 17 percent in 2007-2008, according to the Department of Education. Of the total number of secondary schools, 9 percent are considered high-poverty (2,142 secondary schools) with enrollment of one million students. The vast majority of these schools, however, are considered part and parcel of the "dropout factories" spoken of by education leaders.
There's a lot of justifiable concern over the dropout rates of high-poverty schools. But what happens to those high-performing dreamers who enthusiastically pursue academic achievement as a channel through which they might access economic opportunity?
Unequal Education
Numerous studies show that college-educated adults fare financially better than those with just high school diplomas. That would suggest Herculean efforts are ongoing toward ensuring high-poverty schools students have a chance to escape the clutches of their environments. Sadly, the vast majority of high-poverty high schools are churning out graduating classes that lack sufficient academic preparedness to enter college, much less succeed academically.
The paltry percentages of graduating students from high-poverty schools (68 percent) that move to the collegiate level (28 percent) disclose more about the broken system of academic preparation within those schools than the problem of keeping students from dropping out of them.
By contrast, a more robust 91 percent of 12-graders graduate from schools considered "low-poverty," and 52 percent of graduates move on to the collegiate level.
Unequal Impact
Either we are deliberately "educating" students within the walls of high-poverty high schools toward a life of poverty or we are not educating them at all. We cannot have it both ways.
So, who are these students stuck in the dungeons of academic hell? They are who you might suspect: overwhelmingly, racial minorities.
The data show that high-poverty schools significantly under-perform in academic comparison to low-poverty schools. To add insult to injury, low-poverty schools also display dismal academic success overall, albeit significantly higher than high-poverty schools.
At the same time the schools are failing, the Innovation Economy, fueled by STEM education (science, technology, engineering and math), is speeding up and producing more jobs that require STEM-educated professionals.
At the slothful pace of education reforms, racial minorities trapped in high-poverty schools are destined for over-representation in minimum-wage and service sector menial jobs.
Saving STEM Students
Some students, however, can be saved from having their dreams ambushed. STEM represents opportunity in the new Innovation Economy. And some schools and students are targeting a laser-like focus upon opportunity channels like the Level Playing Field Institute and its SMASH Academy (Summer Math and Science Honors).
SMASH operates with the idea that financial roadblocks ought not be the obstacle that prevents enterprising hard-working talented minority youth from accessing academic opportunity. Selected students attend free five-week summer courses on the campuses of UC Berkeley and Stanford University over three consecutive summers. There are 80 for each campus in the most recent cohort of student scholars.
SMASH -ing Success
With a focus on racial minorities, LPFI and SMASH Academy can serve as a gateway for students who seek to escape the confines of low expectations and lackluster support within their environments. 86 percent of students selected for the program are first-generation college-bound and 85 percent qualify for free or reduced meals.
Back row L-R: Shantina Jackson (Asst. Director Education Programs for LPFI), Mitch Kapor (LPFI Board Member), Kevin Madrigal (SMASH scholar, starting Stanford in the fall - also Gates Millennium Scholar), Jose Villanueva (SMASH scholar, starting Stanford in the fall), Curtis Feeny, Dr. Rob Schwartz (Exec. Dir of LPFI).
Middle row L-R: Catherine Tadina (SMASH scholar, starting Stanford in the fall), Alanna Reyes (SMASH alumnae, current Stanford student), Daisy Rodriguez (SMASH alumnae, current Stanford student)
Front row L-R: Monica Alcazar (SMASH alumnae, current Stanford student), Freada Kapor Klein (LPFI founder), Christina Feeny (SMASH Co-founder), Megan Gage (SMASH scholar, starting Stanford in the fall), Dr. Jarvis Sulcer (Director of Education Programs at LPFI).
Fortunately, we don't have to wait for a government-funded public education system to get its act together. There are enough high net worth individuals, investors, athletes, entertainers, musicians and STEM field professionals who are concerned about the future of our kids to make a tremendous difference by supporting intervention programs like SMASH and others around the country. Investments in the next generations are being made daily by concerned individuals, like Mitchell Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein, who produce access channels to higher education for low-income, high-achieving students of color.
Students Need Help Now
Today, there are many public school students enduring troubled crime-ridden communities and school campuses while they focus on academic excellence within failing educational institutions.
These students need help now. They don't have the luxury of time. Education is clearly their key to success. But will they have access to STEM education programs that provide a pathway for them to pursue their dreams?
The solution to that equation depends upon you and me.
(Graphics and photo by Mike Green)
Follow Mike Green on Twitter: www.twitter.com/amikegreen2
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Mr. Green should read "Are Failing Schools Really Failing?" by Downey et al.
There's plenty of other research that shows that disadvantaged students do just fine while they are in school but that their non-school environments fail to promote intellectual development in the same ways as the non-school environments of advantaged students.
It would be silly to claim that there are no bad schools (or bad teachers), and I am not trying to make that claim. However, the standard evidence that people like Mr. Green use typically fails to accurately attribute credit and blame to schools.
My focus isn't merely on the academics of high-poverty schools. Rather, it is on the outcomes of such academic preparation of students, the result of which are adults ill-prepared to survive and thrive in today's knowledge-based, tech-based Innovation Economy.
The data of high-poverty schools is distressing alone. But when paired with the reality that Black and Brown students aren't participating fully as productive job creators, and significantly under-represented as job seekers, and virtually non-existent as private investors in high-growth entrepreneurship (which is responsible for ALL net new job growth in the U.S. since 1980 according to the Kauffman Foundation), we can see more clearly the problem of the high-poverty schools conveyor belt of failure that dumps unsuspecting adults into an economic paradigm for which they are ill-prepared.
STEM education as core competencies isn't a panacea. Nor does it mean all minorities should pursue STEM field professions. But such academic rigor prepares those students for any field of endeavor AND helps them become more productive participants in the creative process of job creation.
It's one thing to make a defense of high-poverty schools and quite another to offer a solution to the problem. The Innovation Economy is widening the wealth gap between rich and poor. Your defense of high-poverty schools won't mitigate that data.
I appreciate your holistic concern for students. I agree that school should give all students a chance to get a decent job. Our pre-college educational system doesn't seem to be doing that very effectively. I also agree that STEM jobs offer a nice opportunity for workers to achieve middle-class-like lifestyles.
However, understanding whether schools are good or bad for students (rich and poor) significantly shapes the policy responses that would be most effective. If schools are good, then we need more schooling (e.g. year round school years). If schools are bad, then we need to fix them (curriculum reform, merit pay, school closures, etc).
I tend to think that schools are pretty good. That leaves room for other reforms (such as curriculum reforms) that could be useful, however I suggest that "educational reforms" focusing on the non-school environment would be vastly superior to reforms that could affect activities within the school-house.
I also think that disadvantaged students and their parents care about their educational success and have high educational aspirations. However, disadvantaged students clearly face numerous barriers that hinder their academic achievement and their persistence through school. Focusing on STEM careers won't address these issues, therefore the same disadvantaged students will continue to gain less from school than advantaged students ~ even if some benefits accrue because of new curricula.
There is another factor that is encouraging. No matter where on the scale one lands, we all live in a world where the thrust need be encouragement for everyone to become "a lifelong learner". That means that whatever your skill sets are now, most of us will be compelled to add to them throughout our lifespan. We spend more time as adults than as schoolchildren. All should be encouraged to make adult decisions to bolster skill sets, shore up deficiencies, and gain proficiency in marketable skills and things that interest them.
My personal approach is that you work with what you have, and build on it. A crappy start is just that, a start. No one need allow that to be their finish. Each of us, with the proper encouragement and guidance, motivation and drive, can move to the next level. Achievement is not easy for anyone, and we can all learn and achieve.
I encourage everyone to seek out the help needed. It may take time, it does no matter the pursuit. Begin and stick to it. Should you encounter a stumbling block, deal with it and move on. When you find you have been detoured, regroup and chart a new course. The world of learning can be exciting and wonderful, and one in which all can participate.
It is bad wrong to intimate that the public education system is educating students to keep them in poverty. That is a horrible misrepresentation. Nobody is doing more for poor communities or making more of a commitment to improve the quality of life there than public school educators. Often public education is the only functional institution in poverty neighborhoods. The education in poverty neighborhoods in America is excellent, but unexceptable poverty rates makes learning more difficult.
And more misleading than most press releases. If we're going to make any progress in making education better (unlikely, since the current voices in "reform" seem intent on making it worse), we're going to have to stop blaming schools for the effects of out-of-school factors. This is like blaming hospitals for disease.
Here me out:
Contrary to popular belief, the GED is no cakewalk. It's specifically designed so that at least 40% teens fresh out of highschool could not pass. Tweak the version you give to students and you can make it even harder. If a 14 year old can score better than an 40% - 60% of 18 year olds (who had the benefit of four years of instruction) then school is clearly a waste of his time. Give him a diploma and send him on his way.
This will have a number of effects:
1) Reduce crowding.
Offering the GED will get rid of 2 groups who're at high risk of dropping out and living in poverty:
A) Intelligent but lazy students who have the ability but not the motivation to participate in academic study.
B) Average students who are just plain disruptive.
2) It will provide more resources for students who:
A) Couldn't pass the GED and therefore need school the most (at least until they can pass the exam)
B) Could pass the GED but actually **want** a formal education
Let the flaming begin!!!
School choice is a distraction from the difficult work of fixing the real problem.
Think of putting yourself in a third year college level physics class. Unless your knowledge has been steadily built up, you would not even know the questions to ask.
The hardest part if to watch these young adults accept a life living on welfare. Smoking pot doesn't help at all either. It is a minimal existence. It we really want to change things, we need to put funding into drug treatment, mental health and early education.