The Education Challenge: Federal or Local?

Earlier this month, my colleagues and I attended the Governmental Research Associates (GRA) annual conference. Access to and quality of education are of particular interest to me, and a panel held the last day with David P. Driscoll, Mebane Rash Whitman, and Harry Spence called "Education: the K-16 Connection." They examined the connection between higher education (including community colleges) and K-12 and suggested the higher education institutions should participate in the Early College High School Initiative. This initiative, established in 2002 and managed by Jobs for the Future in Boston, is designed so that underachieving students can earn both a high school diploma and an Associate's degree or up to two years of credit toward a Bachelor's degree. So how does this relate to Philadelphia?

A 2007 paper by Johns Hopkins researchers Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters identifies the number, location, and characteristics of the nation's dropout factories--the high schools in which fewer than 60 percent of the students who start as freshmen make it to their senior year. There are about 1,700 high schools nationwide that fit that description and that's 12 percent of all schools. Greater Philadelphia has 29 dropout factories, more than half of Pennsylvania's tally and earning us the dubious ranking of #2 in poorest performing high schools in the east.

But there are innovative efforts underway. Developed at Portland Community College in Oregon, Gateway to College is a program that Philadelphia Community College participates in. Since 2006, the Philadelphia program has been serving at-risk youth, 16 to 20 years old, who have dropped out of school. Students simultaneously accumulate high school and college credits, earning their high school diploma while progressing toward an associate degree or certificate. Gateway to College does not serve students who are doing well in high school and want to make an early transition to college. Gateway to College works exclusively with students who have not experienced success in a traditional high school.

Once admitted, they begin the "Foundation" term with a group of 20 other Gateway to College students. Foundation term courses include reading, writing, math, an academic lab and a college survival and success class. Students spend three to four hours each day working on homework outside of class and Gateway academic coordinator provides guidance and assistance. After successfully completing the Foundation term students enroll in Community College of Philadelphia courses and earn both high school and college credit. .

While a great first step, the Gateway to College program only provides a quick fix, as Philadelphia Community College is the only college to participate in this region. Our local education disparities are a part of a nationwide crisis yet federal lawmakers haven't focused much attention on the high school to college problem. For example, The No Child Left Behind education law, focuses more on educating younger students, but is slowly evolving as House and Senate proposals to renew the law would give high schools more federal money and put more pressure on them to improve. Nationally, about 70 percent of U.S. students graduate on time with a regular diploma. For Hispanic and black students, the proportion drops to about half. What's the next step?

The panelists seemed to agree that that the only solution to this crisis would be total federal control of education. There are others that believe that challenges are specific to certain communities and thus that control should remain local. In Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter has no direct control over the Philadelphia Public School system. Should the education system be federally controlled, locally controlled, or integrated into the community?

--Robert Lee Gordon, IV, Research Associate