The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Community Colleges Attracting Young Students With Summer Camps

Enrollment numbers indicate that more and more parents like Dubanowski each year are sending their grade school and high school children to academic-based camps at Chicago-area junior colleges and community colleges. School officials attribute the growing popularity to the variety and depth of the topics offered at such camps — from music, theater, filmmaking and art to hands-on investigative science projects and pre-algebra. While more traditional summer camps still might be the right fit for some families, the colleges not only make their camps fun, parents say, but the programs have educational value. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-kids-summer-camps-20120418,0,6861821.story

Dual Enrollment Programs May Help College Seniors Stay Engaged

Some high school students have found a cure for the senior blahs: "Dual" or "concurrent" college classes let them earn high school and college credits for the same course. Some students go to a college campus, usually a local community college, while others study at their own high schools. Nationwide, more than a million high school students are taking at least one college class, it's believed. Unlike Advanced Placement courses, which are geared to high achievers, dual enrollment is usually open to a wide range of students. Some programs target students at risk of dropping out. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/sc-fam-0403-education-college-early-20120403,0,5325560.story

This Is Peak Stress Time For College Applicants

Colleges throughout the nation usually notify applicants that they are accepted — or rejected — by April 1. Families, friends and teachers in Connecticut are dealing with the highs and lows. Even seniors who celebrated an admissions offer weeks or months ago say these days are heavy with stress over financial aid. Overall, said Stan Glowiak, a New Britain guidance counselor, this is a difficult time for students. "This time of year, they're all stressing out so much about their futures, what they're going to be doing in their lives," Harris said of his students. The competition and "the pressure about getting into college ... is something that's going to be very valuable to them later on, but it's so awful. They're crying a lot."  Read more at:
http://articles.courant.com/2012-03-27/news/hc-college-acceptance-letters-0328-20120327_1_acceptance-letters-college-bound-high-school-seniors-ithaca-college

Study Finds Students Who Earn College Credits In High School Show Better Retention

An internal University of Texas-Pan American study reveals students who earn college credit while still in high school consistently outperform their traditional peers in several key measures. With new retention, graduation and grade-point average data to back them up, educators at both the high school and higher education levels praised the value of expanding early college opportunities to more Rio Grande Valley students. According to Hinojosa’s report, entering freshmen with any prior college hours, or PCH, are 2.7 times more likely than their traditional peers to stay at UTPA after their first year.   Read more at:
http://www.themonitor.com/articles/greater-58946-report-breeds.html

Never Too Soon For Pre-Kindergarten Students To Learn About College

The silly jig at Public School 41 New Dorp in Staten Island was intended to celebrate an important decision the children had just made. They were going to college — even the prekindergarteners. Because of a new program the elementary school launched earlier this month, the “C” word will be used a lot more within the school’s walls, said Elise Feldman, the principal. The program teaches students about the importance of getting a college education.  In the coming months, the school plans to: • Take students on a tour of the College of Staten Island. • Infuse the curriculum with children’s books, like “Mahalia Mouse Goes to College,” by John Lithgow, and “Judy Moody Goes to College” by Megan McDonald. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/schoolbook/2012/01/18/at-p-s-41-college-planning-begins-in-pre-k/?partner=rss&emc=rss 

 

Too Many High Schools Are Unprepared For College Or The Workplace

Two-fifths of high school students graduate prepared neither for traditional college nor for career training, according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Arizona. College-preparatory programming has expanded dramatically in the past decade. And the underclass? That would be the group that dwells below the level of AP and IB study, in lightweight, second-tier courses that might be called “honors” or AP but lack rigor. If you have a child taking AP courses at a high school where few students ever pass AP tests, then your kid is probably a member of the underclass. The solution, the authors write, is to abolish tracking altogether and to reimagine high school as a tool to prepare all students for both collegeand careers. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/study-two-fifths-of-high-school-graduates-are-unprepared/2011/12/12/gIQArZKnpO_blog.html?wprss=college-inc 

 

Higher Ed And Public Schools Will Work Together To Decrease Need For Remedial Learning

Educators across Ohio will team up to ensure that more high school graduates are ready for college-level work, instead of taking remedial math and English when they arrive on campus. Currently, 41 percent of students who graduate from a public high school in Ohio take at least one remedial course when they enroll in  one of the state's two- or four-year public institutions. A new statewide initiative is aimed at aligning the high school curriculum with what students are expected to know by the time they reach college. Public high schools and colleges will work together on the Ohio High School and Higher Education Alignment Initiative. Read more at:
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/10/educators_will_collaborate_to.html 

 

Re-Learning High School In College

Since enrolling last month at LaGuardia Community College in Queens, Ms. Smith, 19, has come to realize that graduating from a New York City public high school is not the same as learning.  Over all, 74 percent of city high school graduates enrolled at the system’s six community colleges take remediation in at least one subject, but those needing all three are at the highest risk of dropping out. So in 2008, CUNY started a program with a few dozen students to see if an intensive semester focused on just the three subjects — five hours a day, five days a week — could make a difference. The program, known as Start, has since expanded. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/24/education/24winerip.html?_r=1

Hybrid School Will Mix Vocational Education With An Associate's Degree

A new type of school will enter Chicago's crowded public education system next fall, a kind of high school-community college hybrid that, if successful, could one day become a model for preparing students for professional careers without a university diploma. The schools are a departure from traditional vocational high schools because incoming freshmen could be enrolled for up to six years and leave school with an associate's degree and specialized training. Willner said these new schools will help fill that niche by partnering students with mentors from IBM and other businesses. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/education/ct-met-cps-vocational-school-1013-20111013,0,1262261.story

K-12 Invests In Classroom Technology With Little Proof It Improves Learning

To be sure, test scores can go up or down for many reasons. But to many education experts, something is not adding up — here and across the country. In a nutshell: schools are spending billions on technology, even as they cut budgets and lay off teachers, with little proof that this approach is improving basic learning. This conundrum calls into question one of the most significant contemporary educational movements.  Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html?_r=1&emc=eta1