Charter offers hope to at-risk students
Keith King never gets much sleep, but he shaved off a little extra last week. Colorado Springs Early Colleges had just lost its regular bus driver, so King, a former House majority leader and newly elected state senator, had taken a second job.
After dropping the kids at the front door, King would park the bus and stroll over to administrative headquarters, where he runs the complex from a small corner office.
From the outside, CSEC resembles the other charter schools King has founded: a public school in a building originally intended for something else, like a post office or a manufacturer's sprawling storeroom. But every charter school has its own distinctive character, mission, and constituency, and CSEC is no exception.
CSEC offers "dual enrollment," meaning that its 421 students can use the school's public dollars to pay for classes at Pikes Peak Community College, the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs or Colorado Technical University, thus earning high school and college credits at the same time. Incoming students take exams in core subjects to determine their levels of proficiency, and the results determine their initial class placements. Most take at least some courses on college campuses.
The CSEC population spans the demographic spectrum: some students come from affluence and privilege, but there are also first-generation college students, whose parents could never afford to send their kids to college. The dual enrollment model removes tuition from the college equation, at least for a few years.
At the end of high school, when students receive an associate's degree along with their high school diplomas, bachelor's degrees suddenly seem like a logical and feasible step, no matter how difficult a student's background.
CSEC therefore equalizes the financial conditions of students, opening college to rich and poor alike. Moreover, the early access to college offerings allows students to individualize their educations, tailoring tracks to their particular interests or career goals.
Colorado high schools require students to take certain courses in core disciplines such as math, social studies and English, but students enjoy some latitude when it comes to electives. When I was in high school, I took some photography classes - and a study hall or two - but kids at CSEC can choose from all the classes offered at PPCC, UCCS and CTU, provided they've completed the prerequisites.
A sophomore interested in graphic design could squeeze in an introductory course at CTU between his pre-college courses in math and science, while a junior with a taste for languages could study Japanese, Russian or Greek at UCCS.
This ability to customize their schedules is a major draw for kids who might otherwise quit school. In fact, CSEC currently enrolls a number of students who had actually dropped out of their neighborhood high schools, but were won back by the promise of a curriculum that would incorporate their interests and facilitate their careers.
While certain CSEC programs offer college credits for attending college classes, there are also ways to earn high school credits without stepping foot into a classroom. Students considering a career in welding, for example, could arrange a course of independent study, which would grant elective credits for time spent working under the direction of a master welder.
Next year, King plans to institute two new internship programs: one at Memorial Hospital, where kids could study to become x-ray technicians, and another at a beauty school, where students could become licensed hairdressers.
President-elect Barack Obama, a charter-school supporter himself, recently wondered,
"What if we prepared every child in America with the education and skills they need to compete in this new economy? If we made sure college was affordable for everyone who wanted to go?"
What if, indeed? More importantly, how?
People like Keith King are harnessing the energy of school choice to smash the barriers separating disadvantaged children from higher education and skilled careers.
If politicians are serious about lowering the dropout rate and providing affordable access to college, they should take a long hard look at CSEC, and parents with nowhere to turn should know they have a friend in local charterizers.
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Cole is a writer, translator and political organizer. Readers can reach him at dancoloradan@yahoo.com.
