College or Career? What It Takes

College or Career?  What It Takes

 

Academic Ed or Vocational Ed?  So often we fight over which should prevail.  Here’s some food for thought:

Colleges want entry level freshmen who can read, write, think, and calculate at a level of content mastery in a rich curriculum. 

Businesses want entry level employees who can read, write, think, calculate, communicate effectively, and work on a team toward a goal.

We’re not really so different.  My ideal is two-fold:  1. that every student graduate eligible to enter the college or university of their choice...even if they choose not to go, and even if they choose to choose to graduate with their grandchildren; and 2. that every student graduate high school with a “sellable skill.”

Often, people ask, "What would it take for our students to be able to go to college?"

We know exactly what it would take. We don't always know how to make it happen.

1. •For students to be eligible for their chosen college or career by the time they graduate from high school, they must participate in a rich core curriculum leading to appropriate content mastery. SCORE students are placed in rigorous academic classes.
2. •If students are to be successful in these classes, they need to learn effective study skills. SCORE students are taught study skills as a formal part of the curriculum. Study skills are reinforced across the curriculum and in tutorials.
   
3. •If students are to be successfully up-placed in the curriculum, they will need academic support. Academic support is available through SCORE classes, tutorials, and group study sessions.
4. •If high-risk students are to be successful in a rich common core curriculum, teachers must use whole-brain, state-of-the-art, multiple modality teaching techniques. SCORE teachers, with study skills as a basis, use strategies that empower students and state-of-the-art methodologies.
5. •If students are to be successful in a rich academic curriculum, they must eliminate negative factors in their lives that would detract from their success. SCORE programs mentor students and enlist appropriate support networks when a student has a need that is negatively impacting academics.
6. •In order to be successful academically, students need support at all levels: family, community, peer, and education. SCORE programs foster positive peer pressure, family communication, community support, and teacher mentorship.

While we’re at it...let’s teach students to communicate effectively and to work on a team toward a goal.  That way they’ll be career-ready, too.

SCORE is committed to the ideal that all students can succeed in our rich content classes. To bring about success, SCORE endorses a comprehensive, holistic approach to educational reform, based on the above assumptions. If any of these elements is missing from a program, the end result will be diminished. When these elements support one another toward a common goal, the results in student achievement are dramatic.

Check us out!  http://www.lockettlearning.com