We have heard so many reasons why the first time did not work out. Some of our students told us that they got caught up with the wrong crowd and stopped caring. Others said that they did not feel challenged at school. Some told us that life outside of class got in the way – family problems, loss of a loved one, or the demands of pregnancy and child rearing, to name a few.
While the reasons may differ, the end result for each of these students was the same. All of them chose to give up on education and drop out of high school before earning their diploma. Some worked. Some just hung out. Some found trouble.
Unfortunately, young people who drop out of high school can find plenty of company throughout the city of Philadelphia. A recent study conducted by researchers from Johns Hopkins University found that between 2000 and 2005, approximately 30,000 students in Philadelphia who began the ninth grade left without earning a diploma (Neild & Balfanz, 2006 ). To put this into perspective, for every five students attending school in the city of Philadelphia between 2000 and 2005, there are at least three students who have left school without earning a diploma (Neild & Balfanz, 2006).
Yet, hope never completely disappeared for this particular group of young people. At some point during the spring and summer of 2006, they each heard about a new educational opportunity at Community College of Philadelphia that sounded interesting to them. The program, called Gateway to College, offers high school dropouts a second chance to earn a high school diploma.
A number of educational programs in Philadelphia offer dropouts an alternative way to earn a diploma outside of the traditional neighborhood school model. What made Gateway to College stand out to the first 40 students who started the program in the fall of 2006 was the opportunity to take classes at Community College of Philadelphia and earn college credits while simultaneously earning credit toward their high school diploma.
The Gateway to College program is able to offer high school credit because of a partnership with the School District of Philadelphia. The District has agreed to allow Community College of Philadelphia courses to fulfill the District requirements needed for a high school diploma. Amber Koshney, a current Gateway student, believes that the program’s unique structure is allowing her to get back on track. “It has allowed me to make up for lost time by taking college and high school classes at the same time,” she said. Gateway to College applicants undergo a rigorous selection process. All applicants must meet the following basic criteria in order to be considered:
Applicants who meet basic criteria are given an application and invited to attend one of our weekly Gateway to College Information Sessions that we hold on campus. Applicants bring their completed applications (which include three essays) to the Information Session. At the Information Session, applicants learn more about the program and also take a reading assessment called the Adult Placement Indicator (API). The API is used to determine which applicants meet the reading level requirement.
Applicants meeting this reading level requirement are invited to return to the College for two additional days of assessments. These assessments measure basic skills in math, writing, grammar and reading comprehension. Applicants meeting a minimum average on all of the assessments are then invited to the last step of the application process, which is an interview with a Gateway to College staff member and a current student. The interviews are used to discuss past challenges, current motivations to return to education and why the applicant is ready to make a commitment to the Gateway to College program. Motivation is critical to success in the program. Applicants must demonstrate through their written essays and through their interview that they are ready and willing to work hard and provide the focus that the program requires.
A commitment is exactly what Gateway to College students are expected to make to the program in return for the commitment that the program makes to them. Gateway students receive a scholarship that pays for their College tuition, books and most of the fees. Gateway students are responsible for a one-time $20 application fee and a $50 per semester program fee.
In order to maintain their scholarship, Gateway students agree to attend 100% of their classes, earn grades of “C” or higher and complete, on average, three to four hours of homework per night. Scholarships have to be earned each semester, so students have to continue to perform and work hard in order to continue in the program.
Young people returning to an academic environment after having been out of school for a period of time are afforded numerous supports in the program to help them succeed. The Gateway to College model requires a specific protocol to ensure that students receive support and individualized attention, both inside and outside of the classroom. All Gateway to College students are matched with an Academic Coordinator who provides academic, social and emotional support as many students attempt to develop new skills and habits while overcoming destructive behaviors and self-defeating mindsets. Instructors are College faculty who have the desire and ability to teach, mentor and provide extra attention to a group of students who want to learn but do not always know how. Finally, Gateway to College students are divided into Learning Communities, which are 20-person groups of students who take all of their classes together.
Learning Communities are not only beneficial because of their small size, but they also help to promote an atmosphere of positive peer support. Every Gateway student has at some point dropped out of school. Now, these students are in the program because they all want the same thing – a second chance.
Colleen Hill, a current Gateway to College student, believes that peer support in the Gateway program has a positive impact. “There are people in the same situation as you that will guide you and care about learning as well,” she said. Greg Rimer, another current student, sees value in the relationship with the Academic Coordinators. “The Academic Coordinators provide us with much needed support and help us stay on track,” he said.
The academic structure of the program is designed to build basic skills over the first two semesters and then to allow students flexibility in choosing courses that will move them toward their high school diploma requirements while also opening up new areas of interest for future career pursuits. All Gateway to College students begin their first term, called the Foundation term, taking the same set of College courses: Math 016, English 098/099 and Freshman Orientation Seminar (FOS) 101. Foundation term students also participate in an academic lab on Fridays that is meant to review both math and English concepts learned throughout the week. The second semester consists of English 101, Math 017 and Counseling 101. Gateway students who enter at a higher level are given the opportunity to advance at a faster pace by doing higher level work.
After completion of the second semester, Gateway students branch out into general College classes which are chosen based on their high school credit needs and their long-term career interests. The goal for each student is for them to take courses at the College that will match up with their high school credit needs. However, if a student has a career interest or would like to explore a particular interest, the Academic Coordinators in the program try to recommend a College course that will fulfill both needs. For example, if a student has an interest in business management and needs two math courses to fulfill their high school requirement, we will try to direct them to College math courses that will meet the District math requirement while also fulfilling math requirements needed to pursue an associate degree in business.
Key to meeting the needs of this population of students is the close coordination and communication between Gateway to College staff and instructors. Academic Coordinators and instructors are in contact continually, both formally through meetings and informally through phone calls and e-mails, in an attempt to recognize students doing outstanding work and also to address student issues as they inevitably arise.
Gateway to College staff members and instructors have their own motivation for being a part of a program that offers unique challenges, frustrations and rewards. Monique Gamble, an Academic Coordinator, believes her work is more than a job. “I feel like this is my calling to work with students that need the greatest support and assistance,” she said. Kathryn Obelenus, another Gateway Academic Coordinator, believes that all young people deserve an opportunity to succeed, “I have always felt that ‘at-risk’ youth deserve the same resources and advantages that all adolescents should have,” she said.
Community College of Philadelphia instructors who participate in Gateway to College also find fulfillment despite taking on the added responsibilities of attendance and progress reporting, bi-weekly meetings and the unavoidable frustrations involved with seeing some students fall back into old, destructive habits. Fred Dukes, FOS 101 instructor for the program, believes he can relate to Gateway to College students. “This program allows me an opportunity to give back. While pursuing my degree, I was identified as an ‘at-risk’ student,” he said. “I had instructors who provided me with the necessary strategies needed to be a successful college student.”
Although the Gateway to College program is new to Community College of Philadelphia, the program itself is not new and receives support from numerous stakeholders. The first Gateway to College program began in Portland, OR, in the fall of 2000. Since then the program has expanded to include an additional 12 sites nationwide. All are supported by Portland Community College, a national intermediary of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its partners, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Philadelphia Gateway to College program is funded through Community College of Philadelphia and the School District of Philadelphia.
While too early to cite outcomes for the Philadelphia Gateway to College program at Community College of Philadelphia, Gateway to College outcomes elsewhere are both encouraging and point to the need for additional work. The following outcomes resulted from tracking 912 Gateway to College students in Portland, OR, between fall 2000 and fall 2005:
As we conclude our first semester of the Gateway to College program at Community College of Philadelphia, we have experienced both amazing student successes and heart-wrenching challenges and frustrations. But the frequency and profundity of the successes keep the staff and the instructors going, anticipating how and when the next students will unleash their inherent talent — math success where there once was none; an English essay that combines heart, creativity and technical accuracy; an 18-year-old who turned a deep-rooted feeling of hopelessness into an unstoppable drive to someday become a nurse; the stories go on and on.
Our ultimate mission is to offer a ray of hope and a pathway, through education, to turn that hope into a myriad of options for the future. Gateway to College student, Nicole Pearlman, best articulates that mission in describing her experience. “I have achieved a completely different outlook on life due to Gateway and am very satisfied and eager to continue my future.” These words, and the actions of many other Gateway to College students, serve as the ultimate inspiration to continue this work.
Reference
Neild, R. & Balfanz R. (2006) Unfulfilled Promise: The dimensions and characteristics of Philadelphia’s Dropout Crisis, 2000-2005. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia Youth Transition Network. Online at www.projectuturn.net
©Copyright 2007. Contact author for permission
Maintained by Jay Howard,Jan 2007