High School and Community College: Saving Education, Saving Our Future

     Reports on the demise of the American public school system have been vastly overstated. While it is true that there remains a gap in achievement linked heavily to the economic status of students, and recent budget cuts have doled out a hurting to most districts, there is a magic bullet . The solution is the community college. Such a realization has recently been evidenced by President Obama dubbing these institutions the “unsung heroes” of education. Other voices in educational reform have sent in their support in the form of a check. Bill and Melinda Gates for example, in October 2010, pledged $35 million dollars to the President's plan to overhaul the community college system.

     The reasons for such confidence in these organizations is plain to see. For students, community colleges can offer an inexpensive education, and a bridge to university-level learning. Moreover, for the high school student, these schools are a way to experience interesting topics and vocational classes that have continued to disappear from high schools. For all of these reasons, particularly in low-income areas, public schools need to invest in robust partnerships between local high schools and two-year colleges.

     With a cost of less than $1,000 dollars per year (around $26 dollars per unit), community colleges remain the most affordable choice for students without the resources to go straight to the university level following high school. For high school students, the savings are even better – try NOTHING! That's right, it's free. If you are a high school student wanting to take classes at a 2-year school, what they call “concurrent enrollment” is ABSOLUTELY FREE.

      Thinking about this further makes one wonder if the push for skilled workers, and a move towards a more self-sustaining society can be mutually beneficial. Imagine if high school students, for elective courses, fulfilled certification-training for solar panel installations. This could be done with a partnership between a high school and college. Individuals interested in vocational careers would be likely to remain in school (and get free tuition), and would also be more likely to acquire a college degree. Such would benefit society not only economically, but environmentally as well.

     If the future requires a green technology centered around skilled workers employed in the solar, wind, and rail industries, why not bring vocational courses back and give high school students a head start on college?

Other specific cases in which a high school might partner with a community college to benefit students, is with language course offerings. For example, the general consensus is that learning Mandarin Chinese could be incredibly beneficial for high school students. As China continues to modernize, there will be an increase in the need for translation in both business and government affairs. However, most high schools do not offer Mandarin courses because teachers are hard to come by. At the college level, this is a possibility. Thus, if students could take a class at the local community college, they could learn a valuable language, fulfill their language requirement for university admission, earn some college and high school credit, and get exposed to a college environment.

Art is an additional area being devastated by budget cuts, particularly in heavy hit states like California. Data shows that having a quality arts program not only increases student attendance, but it raises achievement as well. Here's where the community college art program can come to the rescue. If a student wanted to take Sculpting, or Cello, or Jewelry Design, why shouldn't he or she have the opportunity to complete it at the college level. If high schools can't supply such a diverse set of course offerings, let the students take matters into their own hands (or their parents hands) and attend a college class.

Another case we should talk about is that of the over-achiever. There are plenty of students who, during their senior year, have completed most – if not all of the high school graduation requirements. Often times these individuals are given HOME periods in which they are allowed to leave school early. However, this doesn't always look good to the more prestigious schools who want to avoid loafers. In such cases, shouldn't these over-achievers look to bolster their educational resume by taking an afternoon class at a community college?

Such a move not only stacks the cards in the student's favor during the admission process, but it also allows a student to get pesky lower-division courses out of the way. This, with a combination of completed AP courses at the high school level, can work to save a student of a semester of university tuition.

     As we conclude, we might want to think about some of the problems facing our education system today. The problems include: a lack of vocational programs, skimpy art offerings, low student attendance and achievement (especially in low-income areas), the lack of a college-going environment, and the growing probability that a major percentage of students will not become the skilled workers needed to create a smarter and more sustainable future. High school partnerships with community colleges can work to improves all of these maladies.

     If our job is to find ways to benefit the students, there are few who could reasonably argue that community college courses offered to eligible high school students would be a bad move. Lets give students the opportunity to make some educational decisions, and explore their passions.