"Fixing" the Nation's Schools
At one time or another we have all been advised, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Judging solely by the number of efforts to "fix" the nation's schools, they must indeed be "broke."
Despite the apparent emphasis on the educational fad of the day, however, many educators are realizing that lasting change requires more than a quick fix. One of many current efforts at educational transformation is the school-college partnership, an exchange between schools and local institutions of higher education for the benefit of both.
This is not a new idea. Like many educational "innovations," the school-college partnership is a cyclical phenomenon. We've seen it before, and as with the periodic rediscovery of Dewey's philosophy of learning, it may well resurface in the next generation of educators if its current proponents lack commitment.
School-college partnerships can take a variety of forms. Dual enrollment or "bridge" programs, for instance, allow high school students to take college classes for credit. Typically open to 11th and 12th graders, these programs are often restricted to students who are already academically successful. Some, like Wisconsin's Youth Options Program, even disallow participation of students defined as "at-risk" under certain circumstances.
Enrichment programs and summer institutes do target at-risk students, and programs also exist to try to rectify the under-representation of women and minorities in engineering and other historically male-dominated fields. These might be classified as problem-oriented programs, and in this category fall the myriad efforts to increase college awareness, and to improve the ability of students to write essays and applications, and to succeed at college entrance examinations. Partnerships in this arena may feature visits to or from a college admissions advisor, who explains admission procedures to students and may even judge applications and essays.
Both the data on persistence and attainment in higher education, as well as widespread public perception, support these efforts to ease the transition from high school to college. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that most Americans surveyed by Jobs for the Future believed that "better coordination is needed to help students go from high school to college and succeed once they are there." An accompanying study showed that only a third of 1988 eighth graders had received a college degree by the year 2000, and that about half of all college students drop out before getting a degree.
Although the origin and dynamics of this situation may be debated, it is generally agreed that the problem goes beyond the ability of schools or school districts to solve on their own; hence the attempt to involve the community, including institutions of higher education, in an effort to meet the challenge.
What form of partnership is best? Some argue that programs which exclusively target students, as those described above, do not represent a long-term solution. The thinking is, as one generation of students graduates and moves on, there is another, just as needy, moving in to take its place. Thus, many schools are working with colleges to establish teacher to teacher alliances and professional development exchanges, in order to improve the overall quality of teaching.
Although most such partnerships are developed with district--or no--funding, private foundations, as well as government-sponsored programs, can provide financial support. The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, for example, provides grants to support partnerships between college faculties and school districts to improve secondary education. On a larger scale, the Carnegie Corporation, in concert with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has recently funded a number of multi-faceted initiatives connecting schools and colleges to effect system-wide reform. Typically, these involve consortia of schools or colleges working together on a broad range of activities.
A number of challenges must be overcome for partnerships to be successful.
As our evaluation of a program supported by the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
discovered, time and scheduling conflicts may be among the biggest. Even
with the best of intentions, finding time in busy schedules to communicate
and to carry out planned activities can be difficult. Personalities and
agendas may conflict, as well. On the other hand, when they work, faculty-teacher
partnerships can support precisely the kind of transformed practice that
the funding organization intended.
What's in it for colleges? Beyond a modest stipend, college faculty typically
become involved out of a commitment to education in the broadest sense.
As one Arthur Vining Davis Fellow put it, "I wanted to help…I’m
an educator, I have kids in the public schools, I care about teachers and
teaching." At a more pragmatic, institutional level, colleges also
have a stake in well-prepared students who can be counted on to finish their
education.Ultimately, successful partnership initiatives find ways to sustain
the initial enthusiasm, even if funding drops away. A clear vision for the
program helps. According to Eva I. Kampits of the New England Association
of Schools and Colleges, "Designing and sustaining partnerships provides
opportunities to create larger learning communities--ones in which traditional
and new members feel fully invested."
This is the goal--a culture of learning and inquiry that transcends physical boundaries as well as those of social tradition. As evaluators, we are well aware of the potential for success. However, we also caution that research and evaluation on student outcomes still lags behind the optimistic rhetoric of the promoters of partnership programs.