Our Education Quagmire at the High School Level
The difficulties confronting our school systems are so far-reaching that it can be suffocating at times. To be sure, our efforts to transform public education will be in vain if we are not able to effectively respond to the systemic inadequacies at the secondary level. Yes, smaller high schools and college preparatory high schools have proven to be the right approach in many of our school districts. But how do we get to a place where these models are replicated in the most dire school systems? How do we attract sufficient funding and organizational partners to share in the financial burden that will undoubtedly accompany this kind of effort? And how do we reach so many students who seem so uninterested in school by the time they reach high school? These are queries that we must answer through aggressive actions and extensive outreach across every sector of society. If those in government and private industry continue to implement school prototypes and partnership efforts that show signs of early success, then others will likely want to piggyback. If foundations and other nonprofit institutions continue to fill gaps by funding innovative teacher programs, mentoring initiatives, and other forms of intervention, then certainly local communities and everyday people will increasingly see the possibilities that can lead to successful high schools and graduates. We must show substantial improvements in our graduation rates across rural, urban, and suburban high schools, if we are to make any real claims of success. It is truly going to require a group effort on the part of people from all walks of life, all over this great and resourceful nation.
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