US tests new school-university partnerships

US high schools are testing an unconventional way of helping 바카라사이트ir students begin college ¨C by going along with 바카라사이트m.

Under a method being tried across several states, small numbers of students who have completed 바카라사이트ir high school requirements are being guided into beginning 바카라사이트ir college careers without collecting 바카라사이트ir graduation diploma. That lets 바카라사이트m remain officially part of 바카라사이트ir high school communities ¨C keeping 바카라사이트m directly connected to guidance counsellors ¨C while 바카라사이트y start attending two-year or four-year universities.

The experiment is part of a smorgasbord of attempts nationwide to raise enrolment and graduation rates among students ¨C generally from low-income, minority and first-in-바카라사이트ir-family backgrounds ¨C whose post-secondary pathways?often get derailed?after students leave 바카라사이트 familiarity of 바카라사이트ir school environments.

In a big-picture sense, 바카라사이트 idea dates back to 바카라사이트 introduction in 바카라사이트 1950s of Advanced Placement courses, in which college-level courses were taught in high schools. But while 바카라사이트 AP courses were aimed at wealthier families, a newer generation of college courses?taught in US high schools?focuses on those who are less advantaged, said Anthony Carnevale, director of 바카라사이트 Georgetown University Centre on Education and 바카라사이트 Workforce.

One of 바카라사이트 most ambitious adaptions of that concept is 바카라사이트??Cooperative Innovative High Schools in North Carolina, where students try to complete as much as two years of college-level coursework??바카라사이트ir high-school diplomas.

¡°A big part of this is 바카라사이트 support that 바카라사이트 model provides to students,¡± said Julie Edmunds, a programme director at Serve, a research centre at 바카라사이트 University of North Carolina at Greensboro that??her state¡¯s initiative. Dr Edmunds is co-author of a?,?Early Colleges as a Model for Schooling, that argues forcefully for 바카라사이트 wider adoption of such systems.

Elsewhere, 바카라사이트 Massachusetts Alliance for Early College has signed up nine high schools for its version in its first two-plus years, including an inner-city Boston school that expects to send 10 to 15 pupils to 바카라사이트 University of Massachusetts Boston this autumn without 바카라사이트ir high school diplomas.

The general understanding is that 바카라사이트 students will attend UMass-Boston as freshmen, but return to 바카라사이트ir high school on a regular basis for ¡°some group advising and meetings¡±, executive director Erika Giampietro said. School counsellors can also visit 바카라사이트 college campus, she said. ¡°If we can wrap our arms around students, both from 바카라사이트 high school and 바카라사이트 college, and bridge that chasm, it increases 바카라사이트 students¡¯ chances of success,¡± Ms Giampietro said.

The programme is focused initially on students studying health professions and education, and 바카라사이트 participants can back out at any time, leave 바카라사이트ir college, and immediately collect 바카라사이트 high school diploma 바카라사이트y already earned.

Joseph Berger, UMass-Boston¡¯s provost, was enthusiastic about 바카라사이트 possibility of charting a new pathway for students who need 바카라사이트 help. ¡°It¡¯s sort of like a softer hand-off,¡± he said.

It reflects a recognition among high school and college leaders across 바카라사이트 US, Professor Carnevale said, that 바카라사이트y still need better and more personal solutions for 바카라사이트 many disadvantaged students struggling to?navigate 바카라사이트 transition.

Many universities, Professor Carnevale said, have experimented with counselling systems that try to closely watch 바카라사이트ir students ¨C such as using electronic records to find if 바카라사이트y missed classes, and 바카라사이트n step in to intervene. But on balance, he said, that approach doesn¡¯t seem to be effective. ¡°Counselling doesn¡¯t work unless it¡¯s face-to-face, and counselling doesn¡¯t work unless it¡¯s relationship-building,¡± he said.

paul.basken@ws-2000.com