Arguably half of the students in the Baltimore City Public School System do not graduate. A multitude of reasons exist for why students leave school and not every child can be helped.
But some can.
That?s why everyone should applaud the decision last week by Baltimore City Community College to connect several of its degree programs with the Baltimore City Public School System. It?s success holds the key to economic growth in our region and state.
Bonnie Legro, the senior program director for education at Baltimore?s Abell Foundation sees this as a “huge untapped opportunity.”
The agreement will allow students to earn college credit in high school for the college?s construction management, hospitality industry, information systems, health care, law enforcement and emergency medical service programs ? all growing fields. Since five of the biggest employers in the region are hospital systems, the health care program alone would be worthwhile.
High school curriculum that directly connects students with post-secondary degrees ? and careers ? and gives them credit toward those degrees should be supported. Studies show that such programs lower high school dropout rates, particularly for those most at risk of leaving. They also show that students who enter college with career goals more often overcome academic problems to graduate than those without them and make more money.
BCCC?s idea is not unique. Other local and national community colleges partner with high schools and four-year institutions to provide a path for students to earn degrees.
But it means thousands of city students who might not have seen a clear path to college, and beyond, now have one. And BCCC is a place city high school students already know and appreciate.
More students from Baltimore City public schools enroll at BCCC than any other higher education institution in the state.
But as “HELP WANTED: Career and Technology Education in Baltimore City Public Schools” ? a 2005 Abell Foundation study ? shows, the state of career and technology education training at the city?s public schools, the curriculum that would link students with careers, is in bad shape for a number of reasons.
Enrollment in its programs is declining, and compared to Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Montgomery Counties, it is meager. For example, in 2003, about 25 percent of Baltimore City public high school students were enrolled in the career and technology education programs, compared to 47 percent in Anne Arundel and 35 percent in Baltimore and Montgomery Counties.
The study also found that the programs were not available to many students, nor were internships. Oversight by industry to ensure proper training basically was nonexistent.
The existence of the program means that the college and city high school system can jointly apply for federal and state grants for training and curricula that would otherwise not be available, said Herbert Sledge Jr., the interim vice president of institutional advancement at the college. The funding stream obviously is a benefit. But students have to enroll to make it work.
We look forward to hearing how both the college and the high schools plan to market the program to boost participation. At $78 per credit, BCCC is one of the most affordable places to earn a degree.
No student with an interest in those careers should pass it up.
