Meeting the challenges of urban education.

Meeting the challenges of urban education. No one can deny that today's urban schools are facing anuphill battle Uphill Battle was an metalcore band with elements of grindcore and noisecore. The group was based out of Santa Barbara, California, USA. HistoryUphill Battle got some recognition releasing their self-titled record on Relapse Records. . These schools confront a number of challenges that theirrural, and even suburban, counterparts do not. Problems includeover-crowded classrooms, dilapidated facilities, lack of equipment,teacher shortages, and low student achievement. Furthermore, students ininner cities must often deal with the stresses of poverty and violenceoutside of school. The consequences reveal themselves in tragicstatistics: one high school student drops out every nine seconds,according to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the Children's Defense Fund The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a national organization that is committed to the social Welfare of children. Founded in 1973, the nonprofit group uses its annual $9 million budget to lobby legislators and to speak out publicly on a broad array of issues on the law, the family, and . Career and technical education programs in large cities are notimmune. On the contrary, the challenges for CTE (Coefficient of Thermal Expansion) The difference between the way two materials expand when heat is applied. This is very critical when chips are mounted to printed circuit boards, because the silicon chip expands at a different rate than the plastic board. can be even moreoverwhelming. However, educators--seeing all the good that CTE does forurban students--continue to develop creative and effective ways tosurmount sur��mount?tr.v. sur��mount��ed, sur��mount��ing, sur��mounts1. To overcome (an obstacle, for example); conquer.2. To ascend to the top of; climb.3. a. To place something above; top. the difficulties. The reason that that they put so much effortinto the struggle is clear: many believe that CTE programs are anintegral weapon in the fight to save our urban schools. The Challenge of Funding Urban schools often have difficulty getting enough financialsupport to meet the needs of their students. School districts inmetropolitan areas have more students, more facilities and more programsto support. For career and technical programs, the financial challenge can beeven greater. Many career academies and CTE programs have higher startupcosts and higher per-student costs. They require career/technicalteachers, unique equipment and materials, and many have smaller classsizes that further increase costs. Yet, many districts are underpressure to fund their CTE programs at the same level as traditionalclasses. Neil Sullivan Neil Sullivan (born 24 February 1970 in Sutton) is a professional footballer currently playing for Doncaster Rovers again on a permanent basis after moving from Leeds United at the end of the 2006-2007 season. He is a goalkeeper. is executive director of the Boston Private IndustryCouncil, which facilitates the Boston Compact, a partnership between thecity's business and education communities that promotes jobopportunities and improved academic performance for students. The budgetissue is one of the largest challenges, according to Sullivan. One bigreason why CTE programs can cost so much more than their traditionalcounterparts, he explains, is that students are pursuing a high schooldiploma A high school diploma is a diploma awarded for the completion of high school. In the United States and Canada, it is considered the minimum education required for government jobs and higher education. An equivalent is the GED. and reliable technical certification simultaneously. The expensive equipment and technology required to train studentsin technical fields puts a financial strain on CTE programs. "Our programs require very expensive equipment," saysJill Wine-Banks, head of Chicago Public Schools' Office ofEducation to Careers. "The Board of Education and city tax dollarscan't afford to keep upgrading computers and othertechnology." And, she points out, the expenses don't just apply to programsthat involve manufacturing or information technology. "If wetrained kids to repair a car with wrenches, they wouldn't beemployable. They have to have the kind of lifts and computers thatdiagnose problems in cars today." Many districts have helped address this challenge by calling on thesupport of local businesses. And in this regard, urban schools have anadvantage in that they have much more access to large corporations.Recognizing that these programs are training their future workforce,businesses partner with schools to provide equipment, resources andsometimes even direct funding. Finding Qualified Teachers School districts throughout the country have always had troublefinding qualified teachers. For administrators of CTE programs, this isespecially true. Career and technical teachers must be trained ininstruction and classroom skills as well as have the necessaryexperience in their fields. The problem is that those who have thatexperience are usually making far more money than they would as a newteacher. For public schools, it's difficult to compete. Districts offer programs in those career paths that they know havea lot of well-paying job opportunities. "The reality is that teachers don't make as much ascarpenters and electricians," says Wine-Banks, "and we needcarpenters and electricians to train students in those fields." The problem is so critical that some urban districts have begunimplementing special initiatives to deal with it. For example, inChicago, the district is working with Chicago State University andRoosevelt University Roosevelt University is a four-year, private institute of higher education with full service campuses in Chicago's Loop and northwest suburban Schaumburg. It also offers classes in communities, schools, and corporations, and has the mission of being a metropolitan university and to develop an alternative teaching certification An Alternative Teaching Certification is a license that is awarded to someone who has not earned a traditional bachelor's degree in education or a traditional teacher certification, but still possess a four-year degree from an accredited college or university. program. Through the program, a teaching candidate who holds anassociate's degree as��so��ci��ate's degreen.An academic degree conferred by a two-year college after the prescribed course of study has been successfully completed. could attend college for two years of teachertraining, culminating in a four-year degree. Nevada has developed a provisional business/industry licensure tokeep up with the demand for qualified CTE teachers. Those hired areeligible to teach on the condition that they enroll in, and thencomplete, several courses in educational methodology, explains RichardArguello, principal of Southern Nevada Vocational Training Center in LasVegas Las Vegas(läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. . It's a lot of hard work to attend school while teaching fulltime, but the district offers up an attractive financial incentive: aCTE teacher gets paid at the rate of a traditional teacher who has amaster's degree master's degreen.An academic degree conferred by a college or university upon those who complete at least one year of prescribed study beyond the bachelor's degree.Noun 1. and five years of teaching experience. Meeting Academic Standards The new standards imposed by high-stakes testing A high-stakes test is an assessment which has important consequences for the test taker. If the examinee passes the test, then the examinee may receive significant benefits, such as a high school diploma or a license to practice law. present anothersignificant challenge to career and technical education programs. Whenschools are faced with high-stakes tests, educators must often sacrificetime for CTE in favor of core subjects. Massachusetts is among the first round of schools to implementhigh-stakes testing. "In our state, one of the most vocal challenges to thehigh-stakes test has come from the CTE schools," says Sullivan, butthey have not prevailed. "It means more time on academics, lesstime on CTE courses, and fewer students who get to thecertification." The transition is a bumpy bump��y?adj. bump��i��er, bump��i��est1. Covered with or full of bumps: a bumpy country road.2. Marked by bumps and jolts; rough: a bumpy flight. road, according to Sullivan, andit's been difficult to harmonize career and technical classes andcore classes. "In theory, you could learn math through carpentry," hesays, "but given the current pressures with these first waves ofstudents, it hasn't happened here yet." In an attempt to meet the challenge, Boston Public Schools Boston Public School is a feeder school to Townsend Central Public School and Waterford District High School, part of the Grand Erie District School Board. It is located in Boston, Ontario, near Waterford, Ontario, at 2993 Cockshutt Road, Waterford, Ontario N0E 1Y0. hasinitiated a program in which employed students who are committed topassing the test receive instruction at the workplace. The program,explains Sullivan, evolved from a need to meet academic standards whileshowing the students good faith. By working for businesses such asMassachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General HospitalHealth care The major teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, widely regarded as one of the best health care centers in the world , Blue Cross/Blue Shield and State StreetBank, students get a taste for the opportunities available forgraduates. "It's an incentive to persist when they're failingthe test," says Sullivan. This program was not part of the original Boston Compact; it wasdeveloped as a response to high-stakes testing. "It's our recognition that there is a lot of collateraldamage collateral damageSurgery A popular term for any undesired but unavoidable co-morbidity associated with a therapy–eg, chemotherapy-induced CD to the BM and GI tract as a side effect of destroying tumor cells in any revolutionary moment," says Sullivan. A Unique Challenge: Agriculture Education in Urban Areas Agriculture education, which has traditionally been associated withrural areas, poses unique challenges for urban school districts.Elizabeth Wilson, Ph.D., an assistant professor of Agriculture andExtension Education at North Carolina State University HistoryMain article: History of North Carolina State University The North Carolina General Assembly founded NC State on March 7, 1887 as a land-grant college under the name North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. , knows thesechallenges firsthand first��hand?adj.Received from the original source: firsthand information.first . During her eight years as a teacher at Charles E.Jordan High School Charles E. Jordan High School (generally referred to as Jordan) is located in Durham, North Carolina. It is one of seven high schools in Durham Public Schools. It is located on Garrett Road near Hope Valley Road in southwest Durham. The school mascot is the falcon. , in Durham, N.C., Wilson worked to develop theschool's biotechnology curriculum and used it to connect studentsto agriculture. "Without any day-to-day exposure to agriculture, it was hardfor them to form any natural interest in it," she explains. Theresearch track of the agriculture industry, however, provided an ideallink. Durham lies on the edge of North Carolina's Research TrianglePark Research Triangle Park,research, business, medical, and educational complex situated in central North Carolina. It has an area of 6,900 acres (2,795 hectares) and is 8 × 2 mi (13 × 3 km) in size. Named for the triangle formed by Duke Univ. , which includes 100 research and development-related organizationsand employs about 44,000 workers. "In a rural county, our program never would have been able toget the financial support from companies like those in Research TrianglePark," Wilson adds. "They gave me money to buy equipment andto change the program and make it more research based." Whereas in rural areas biotechnology is often taught as anextension of agriculture, in Durham students study biotechnology firstand then learn about the agriculture industry as its context. In orderto prepare students for work in a laboratory, Wilson "thought itwas important that students understand the agriculture industry beforethey start working on the related research." At first, her program had to actively recruit students and explainto them the educational and career opportunities associated with theagriculture industry. "Most high school students are naturally interested in plantsand animals Plants and Animals are a Canadian indie-rock band from Montreal, comprised of guitarist-vocalists Warren Spicer and Nic Basque, and drummer-vocalist Matthew Woodley.[1] They are signed to Secret City Records. ," she explains, but had not considered enrolling in anagriculture program. Appealing to students turned out to be much easier than convincingtheir parents. "The biggest challenge in our urban area was the lack ofunderstanding among parents about the agriculture industry,"according to Wilson. "Some parents thought that because NorthCarolina North Carolina,state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N).Facts and FiguresArea, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. farmers were having a tough time that everybody in theagriculture industry was." They associated the industry only with production, and as a result,believed it would offer only limited opportunities for their children.So, Wilson and her colleagues had to educate the community about theother aspects of the industry in order to market the program. In addition to biotechnology, Wilson expanded her program toinclude courses in animal science and landscape construction andmaintenance, as well as expanding the offerings in horticulture--allfields with great job potential in urban areas. As she points out,though, it isn't just urban areas that need to tailor theirprograms to meet the changes in the community. The landscaping business,she says, is in need of labor in expanding and developingregions--whether they're rural, suburban or urban. As more American cities expand into once rural areas, schools willhave to transition their programs to reflect the changing community. "But no matter where an agriculture education teacheris," says Wilson, "if they're meeting the needs of thatlocal community, they'll be successful." Part of the Solution So why with all the challenges involved--do urban school districtsgo to the trouble of developing and supporting CTE programs and schools?The biggest reason, according to many educators, is that these programshave been successful in dealing with what is arguably ar��gu��a��ble?adj.1. Open to argument: an arguable question, still unresolved.2. That can be argued plausibly; defensible in argument: three arguable points of law. the biggestproblem facing urban schools: low student achievement. Most CTE programs involve small learning communities, whether thosecommunities lie within a larger traditional high school or careeracademy. With smaller classes and more individual attention, studentshave an easier time making significant connections with fellow peers andadults. For urban youth, the connections can make a profound differencein self-esteem and academic performance. "Within a very large school, I felt like we caught a lot ofkids that were falling through the cracks," says Wilson of herexperiences in Durham schools Durham School is an independent British day and boarding school for girls and boys (age 3-18) in Durham. It was founded by at least 1414 (the foundation date accepted by the Clarendon Commission into public schools in 1861), and refounded by Henry VIII of England during the . "It made a nice little niche for agroup of kids; it gave them something to be involved in and something toexcel in." In the case of career academies, there is often a strong emphasison students taking air active role in their own education. Although somemay be recruited, all students must demonstrate a clear interest in theschool and apply for admission. The high expectations and sense of pridethat come with attending a career academy can be highly motivating forstudents who might otherwise be at risk for dropping out. Two such academies in Las Vegas--the Advanced Technologies Academyand the Southern Nevada Vocational Training Center--reveal howsuccessful this model can be. According to Carlos Garcia Carlos Garcia can refer to: The former major league baseball player, see Carlos Garc��a. The Filipino poet and former President, see Carlos P. Garcia. The Argentine pop star Carlos Alberto Garc��a Moreno, see Charly Garc��a. , thedistrict's superintendent and a former chair of the Council of theGreat City Schools, it's not a right to attend theseschools--it's a privilege. The approach has paid off. The academieshave the highest attendance rates in the district, as well as two of thehighest graduation rates. The emphasis on contextualized learning is another reason why CTEprograms are ideal for many urban students. "Urban students, who may not see the adults in their livesrewarded for hard work, are not usually motivated by extrinsic EVIDENCE, EXTRINSIC. External evidence, or that which is not contained in the body of an agreement, contract, and the like. 2. It is a general rule that extrinsic evidence cannot be admitted to contradict, explain, vary or change the terms of a contract or of a meanssuch as grades and discipline, and uninteresting (jargon) uninteresting - 1. Said of a problem that, although nontrivial, can be solved simply by throwing sufficient resources at it.2. Also said of problems for which a solution would neither advance the state of the art nor be fun to design and code. tasks may seempointless to them," writes Susan Imel in a 2000 article for theNational Dissemination disseminationMedtalk The spread of a pernicious process–eg, CA, acute infection Oncology Metastasis, see there Center for Career and Technical Education. These students may thrive on hands-on learning in the classroom orthrough internships and apprenticeships. "When students realize that the academics are related to alife-goal, they seem to pay more attention and do better," saysWine-Banks. That, she says is the reason that students enrolled in smallcareer academies have higher GPAs and standardized test A standardized test is a test administered and scored in a standard manner. The tests are designed in such a way that the "questions, conditions for administering, scoring procedures, and interpretations are consistent" [1] scores and areabout one-third less likely to drop out. "For example, a nursing student might think that math is sucha bore," she explains, but then the student recognizes "thatin order not to kill a patient they have to give the right dosage basedon body weight--and that requires higher math skills and problemsolving problem solvingProcess involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. ." But CTE programs are more than just a means of helping to get urbanstudents through the high school years; they also can be a greatopportunity to prepare for postsecondary education. In Clark County,Nevada Clark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Nevada. It is the most populous county in Nevada (2006 population estimate 1,912,654), and contains the city of Las Vegas. , students have more than 60 courses available that allow them toearn college credit in their high school years. According to Kathleen Frosini, director of career and technicaleducation for the district, urban students aren't just preparingfor college academically, they're also preparing financially. "A lot of our kids are enrolled in CTE programs because theyknow they may have to pay for their own postsecondary training,"she explains. "And one of the excellent ways to do that is to workat something they enjoy and get paid a higher wage than they would fornon-skilled work." Chicago Public Schools Chicago Public Schools, commonly abbreviated as CPS by local residents and politicians, is a school district that controls over 600 public elementary and high schools in Chicago, Illinois. , in conjunction with DeVry University DeVry University and DeVry Institute of Technology are divisions of Devry Inc.[1] (NYSE:DV), a private for-profit university[2] ,offers its students a unique program through which they can graduatewith not only a high school diploma, but also an associate's degreein network system administration. Students accomplish this by taking thenecessary college courses in the summers before their junior and senioryears. "Many of the students in the program plan to stay in acomputer field, but many of them plan to simply use it to pay for thenext two years of college," says Wine-Banks. "Like many urbanschool districts, our students are 85 percent below poverty and 90percent minority, and we are opening doors for students who would nevergo to college otherwise." While the challenges remain difficult for CTE programs in urbanareas, more and more educators--believing in the good such programs cando--seem to be willing and eager to take them on. "Good urban education is the solution to poverty," saysSullivan. "It's how you win the war. That's how big itis." Photo Courtesy of Southern Nevada Vocational Training Center