under an enormous amount of pressure to succeed while in school.
Kindergartners must learn to read, add, and subtract before they
finish their first year of school. In some places, students must
pass certain state tests in order to be promoted to the next
grade level. More and more emphasis is being placed on the
importance of a rigorous academic program for middle- and
high-school students, with the end result of attending a college
or university. Is all this necessary? Well, legislators, the
president, and local district officials believe so. Many parents
also agree that kids need to graduate from high school ready to
go on to college. Leaders of Pittsburgh Public Schools and of
Pittsburgh itself plan to institute a new plan to motivate even
more students to seek out a college education.
The Pittsburgh Schools have issued what it calls "The
Pittsburgh Promise," pledging that starting in 2008, all
graduates who meet certain Pittsburgh Schools standards will
have the means of getting post-secondary education. Wow! What a
great idea! There are most likely some Pittsburgh Schools
students who don't even dream of going to college, simply
because their families can't afford it. Imagine, if you will, a
Pittsburgh Schools family of blue-collar workers who have not
had any of its members attend college. It is their dream for
their children to go to college and have a better life; if this
new program is indeed successful, this dream will most likely
become a reality!
The Pittsburgh Schools district and the city hope to raise $5
million to $7 million a year to make college or other
post-secondary education affordable. To access the money,
Pittsburgh Schools students will have to attend one of the
Pittsburgh Schools, do their work, stay out of trouble, and
graduate. It's truly admirable to see that the city leaders,
community leaders and the Pittsburgh Schools leaders recognize
the difficulties that lay in the path of some of these students
to actually attend college.
More and more, even some "blue-collar" jobs are requiring a
minimum of a 2-year degree. Firefighters, carpenters, even
cosmetologists can attend a community college where they receive
the training their prospective employers are looking for. The
students of Pittsburgh Schools who are on the vocational path
will now have the opportunity to go to college, no matter what
their family's financial situation might be. What a wonderful
graduation gift Pittsburgh Schools students could receive upon
leaving high school! Since society and the government are
forever clamoring about how far behind our students are as
compared to other students around the world, kudos to Pittsburgh
Schools and the city of Pittsburgh for doing their part to get
more kids in college.
About The Author: Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools
K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and
private K-12 schools. For more information please visit
http://www.schoolsk
