Preparing students for the future

I hope this new blog starts a dialogue about certain education issues in the Snoqualmie Valley Schools.  I hope that you enjoy this first entry.

"The path to college starts now."  I loved reading this, in the November 7th Seattle Times, about a sign above the door of a fourth grade classroom in a Seattle school.  The sign is just one piece of evidence of the new teacher's desire to inspire her students to "dream big."  President Obama, said in March, "We must ensure that every student graduates from high school well prepared for college and a career."   Do you see this philosophy and vision in Snoqualmie Valley Schools? 

A Georgetown University report forecasts that 63% of all American jobs and about 90% of jobs in four of the five fastest growing industries will require postsecondary education.  Is the Snoqualmie Valley School District preparing its students for this future workforce?  As it stands more than half of our Valley's high school graduates either dropped out of college or never even enrolled.  And only 1/3 of the graduating class earned a college degree six years after high school.  These numbers don't even include the 15% of students who either drop out of high school or take longer than 4 years to graduate.

Over the last 6 years, I have had many conversations with teachers and administrators about increasing rigor and improving college readiness so that more students have college as an option. Unfortunately,  I have been met with resistance from some of them and have been told that students in this Valley are "different" from other Eastside students.   I've heard as an excuse many times: "we don't want to make the kids that aren't going to college feel bad."  Well, this same Georgetown report cited above states that "high school graduates and dropouts will find themselves largely left behind in the coming decades as employer demand for workers with postsecondary degrees continues to surge."  Rather than worrying about kids feeling bad about not going to college, let's work to ensure that more are prepared to do just that.

The recent School Improvement Plans submitted by all of the schools provide good evidence that preparing students for college is not a district-wide priority here. Nationally and locally, this is unusual.  Most of the districts in our region, including the urban challenged Seattle School District, have set this priority and monitor their performance towards that goal.   I think that Bellevue states it the best: "Since the overarching goal of Bellevue School District is to prepare all graduates to be successful, not just in enrolling in college but in succeeding in college, it is important that the district be engaged in ongoing assessments of its performance."  And, I really like the attitude of the superintendent of Lake Washington School District when he said: "College preparation ensure that students leave high school with options." 

The U.S. Department of Education recommends publicly reporting data related to college readiness so that parents, teachers, students, and community members can assess the progress of their schools.  Many districts in our region report their progress towards specific district-wide goals related to enrollment in advanced placement classes, the number of graduates meeting credit requirements for college admissions, performance on college admissions tests, the four year graduation rate, the high school dropout rate, the number of graduates enrolled in a post-secondary educational program,  the number of students needing remedial courses in college, and the number of students graduating with college degrees.  We need to be doing the same.

I have attended most school board meetings for the last 6 years.  I have listened to hours of discussion about bonds for new schools, school boundaries, bullying, and gay rights.  But, I haven't observed time spent on ensuring that our schools are preparing students for college.  So, is it enough for you that the Snoqualmie Valley Schools prepare 85% of students to graduate from high school on time?  Or do we want the district to join other thought leaders in the region and in the nation in setting the ultimate goal of preparing all high school graduates for college?

Please joining me in encouraging the school board to set this vision. Insist that the administration immediately align curriculum and enhance student interventions and counseling to make it a reality.  I encourage you to ask for data like that which I have described (it is available) so that we can all assess whether the district is preparing our young people for the future. 

Not all of our Valley's students will go to college, but let's at least allow them that option.  It's time to look outside of this Valley - to our nation's capital and to our neighbors - in order to set meaningful goals to help students in this Valley get the education they deserve. Indeed, the path to college starts here!