Boston Superintendent Calls for ‘Every Child, Every Day, College Bound’
 |
Carol R. Johnson, Superintendent of Boston Public Schools |
Carol R. Johnson, superintendent for Boston Public Schools, opened this year’s New England Regional Forum with a keynote address about the efforts Boston Public Schools is making to increase the college-going rate for its students.
In her previous post as superintendent of Memphis City Schools in Tennessee, she said she would repeat the mantra “every child, every day, college bound” to remind her of her goal. “I used to get beat up a lot in meetings for saying it,” she told the audience. “A lot of people didn’t believe in that. Today, our students simply can’t afford not to have the skills and experience to serve in the economy we’re in.” She cited troubling statistics about the increase in layoffs in Massachusetts and added, “I don’t believe that we have another viable option.”
She shared what her district has learned from its experience with small high schools funded by the Gates Foundation. “What we heard from students is that they wanted to be welcomed, respected and known at school. They wanted to learn about career opportunities and wanted to chance to catch up on their academics,” she said. She added that parents wanted more openness and more support for non-English-speaking families.
Boston Public Schools has responded to the call for opportunities
to “catch up” through a district acceleration agenda, which
includes expanded credit recovery centers that students can
attend in the summer.
Johnson talked about the importance of successful transitions for students, not just between grades at critical junctures, but also the transition to a new school and new culture for those students who have emigrated from other countries. She spoke about two high schools, Boston International and the Newcomers Academy, that have special programs to serve these students.
Boston Public Schools recently participated in a study with Northeastern University that followed the city’s graduating high school class of 2000. The study followed graduates seven years out of high school and looked at college graduation rates. Of the 3,000 graduates in 2000, about 65 percent went on to college. Only about half of that 65 percent either had graduated or were still enrolled in college.
These statistics, Johnson said, proved that it is not enough for us just to encourage young people to go to college, especially first-generation college students. Johnson called for the need to study financial aid policy and its effect on college persistence and completion rates. She lauded the College Board’s Rethinking Student Aid advocacy project: “Their report speaks to the challenges faced by nontraditional students and those with financial difficulties, as well as the important role of financial engagement in high school.”
Johnson closed her speech by reading an eloquent letter written by a Boston student who was originally from Ethiopia and came to the United States without knowing how to speak any English. In Ethiopia, he and his family were targeted by military invasions and he escaped with an uncle to a refugee camp in Kenya, where for three years he watched many friends die. He has not seen his parents or siblings since he left home. He came to the United States alone, enrolled in the Boston Public Schools system and lived in a shelter for seven months before he was placed in a home. He credited his teachers and the school system with giving him the support he needed to learn English and excel in school. “I have made it this far due to my belief in education,” he concluded.
