Kalamazoo Central: A National model for turning around struggling school districts

The city home to the Kalamazoo Promise has had the opportunity to demonstrate its worth with the Race To The Top High School Commencement Challenge, where the top prize is a commencement speech from President Obama. Last weekend, Western Michigan University just graduated its first Kalamazoo Promise class.

Picking a winner, which the president is expected to do by Tuesday, is likely to boil down to what kind of message Obama wants to send about education reform. From the Kalamazoo Gazette:

Does the White House want to highlight a small, specialty school that produces outstanding results for a self-selecting groups of students?

Or does Obama opt for Kalamazoo Central High School — a traditional school that represents a model for turning around a struggling urban district?

This is going to be an important choice,” said Joseph Kretovics, an education professor at Western Michigan University who has long been involved in school reform. “These are three very different schools with three very different populations.”

White House officials have said they are looking for a school that serves as a national model for preparing students for college.

Here is a breakdown of the competition:

• Kalamazoo Central, which is the only traditional high school in the mix. K-Central’s entry focused on The Kalamazoo Promise, the college scholarship program for Kalamazoo graduates, and the districtwide reform efforts that The Promise has inspired. Since creation of The Promise in 2005, 91 percent of Central graduates have gone on to college.

• Denver School of Science and Technology, a charter school that boasts that 100 percent of its first three graduating classes have been accepted to four-year colleges. The school does not have entrance requirements, but students must take pre-calculus and five science classes over four years, plus complete an internship and a senior project to graduate.

• Clark Montessori Junior and Senior High School, a magnet program in Cincinnati Public Schools. The school says 100 percent of the Class of 2010 has been accepted to college. Like the Denver program, Clark has open enrollment but parents and students must sign a contract promising the student will work hard, behave respectfully and perform 200 hours of community service during the four years of high school. Students also are required to take honors courses in core subjects, and undertake a senior project that involves a 30- to 40-page paper.

Whatever happens, we can be proud of the Promise and its affect on reducing poverty in the City of Kalamazoo. More on K Central:

Kalamazoo Central High School

Type of school: One of two traditional high schools in Kalamazoo Public Schools. Enrollment: About 1,700.
Claims to fame: K-Central graduates receive The Kalamazoo Promise, which pays for four years of college tuition.
Entrance requirements: None. By the numbers: The final number in the Class of 2010 has not been determined. Since creation of The Promise in 2005, 91 percent of Central graduates have gone on to college. Demographics: 57 percent are from low-income families; 61 percent are minorities.

Read the Full Article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/05/obama_contest_keys_on_school_r.html