Introduction

Students have read about the different ways that legislators and educators are meeting the challenges of raising the academic level of American students. In this activity, students will learn how colleges and universities connected with neighborhood schools to improve public education.

Lesson Description

Students will use information from the Time.com article "The New College Try" to learn about K-16 partnerships. Students will read about several partnerships and how they benefited both public schools and colleges. They will also read about the challenges of K-16 partnerships and how partnerships may impact school reform. Students will then answer four questions and apply this information by developing a partnership plan that addresses a social need.

Instructional Objectives

1. Students will discuss education reform and some of the methods being employed to improve public education.
2. Students will be able to use this knowledge to develop a plan based on the K-16 partnership model that addresses a social need.

Student Activity Answers

1. In K-16 partnerships, colleges help neighborhood schools by designing curriculums and training teachers, helping write academic standards, and mounting capital campaigns. Colleges sometimes take management roles in schools, running the entire program from hiring personnel to immunizing students.
2. Answers will include improved reading levels and test scores, improved physical conditions of schools, increased numbers of students taking college preparatory classes, and increased student enrollment.
3. Colleges must address the needs of students, parents, and teachers when designing curriculums. Parents, and sometimes teachers, may need tutoring in order to fulfill their roles in the curriculums. Additionally, the rate of teacher and administrator turnover in public schools can challenge the continuity of a partnership.
4. School systems have credited K-16 partnerships for reducing remediation rates for college freshmen, raising SAT scores, and providing outreach to minorities. K-16 partnerships also provide colleges with training grounds for education students.
5. Students' plans will vary.

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