An Independent Path to College Success MICHAEL P. DANZIGER As Perez and other community leaders began In Hartford, Conn., more than $11 million was designing the independent school initiative, called The recently committed to support college access for Hartford Youth Scholars Foundation (HYSF), members low-income students. Federal funds under “No of the HYSF board traveled to Boston to learn about Child Left Behind?” Nope. A gift from the Gates the Steppingstone Foundation’s experience preparing urban students for success at independent and public Foundation? Not that either. exam schools. Founded in 1990, Steppingstone is a The millions were pledged by a group of Hartford- privately funded nonprofit organization that has area private, or independent,high schools as part of prepared more than 1,000 fifth-, sixth-, and eighth-grade Mayor Eddie Perez’s campaign to improve college students in Boston and Philadelphia for admission to matriculation rates in Connecticut’s capital city. top “college-preparatory” middle schools and high Faced with a long-term economic crisis if the city’s schools. Through a selective process, Steppingstone school system fails to show marked improvement, enrolls motivated students from underserved, low- to Perez charged a Blue Ribbon Commission in 2004 to moderate-income neighborhoods who would not other- “open the doors of economic opportunity for Hartford wise have access to these educational opportunities. residents by increasing the number of Hartford youth Beginning in the summer before fifth-, sixth-, and obtaining bachelor’s degrees.” With the support of eighth-grade, Steppingstone students—dubbed business, education and community leaders in the city, “Scholars” upon acceptance to the program––are Perez set a goal to increase the number of Hartford immersed in a demanding 14-month academic preparation public high school graduates who enroll in and graduate component that consists of two full-time summer sessions from four-year colleges by 25 percent over a period of and classes after school and on Saturdays during the five years. school year. Classes are taught by teachers from partner In support of the mayor’s goal, more than 20 placement schools such as Belmont Hill School and Connecticut independent high schools have committed Milton Academy and area graduate schools such as $11.5 million in scholarships for Hartford students. Harvard, Boston College and Lesley and are designed Perez’s inclusion of independent schools in the plan is unconventional and controversial, but critically impor- to prepare the Scholars for the rigors and expectations tant. Fully half of Hartford’s 125,000 residents are age that await them at college-preparatory schools. Courses 14 or under, and education is crucial to developing and range from literature and science to test prep and study retaining a skilled workforce. But the Hartford public skills. On a typical day at Steppingstone, Scholars might school system posts lower high school graduation dissect a passage from Newsweekin search of words and college enrollment rates than any other urban with Latin roots, discuss censorship and civil liberty area in New England. Less than 5 percent of the high issues raised in reading Fahrenheit 451,and practice school Class of 2003 is expected to graduate from their critical thinking skills in a math clinicfocused on afour-year college by 2008. “Education is the great word problems. The focus of the 14-month component equalizer in our society,” said Perez. “I want to increase is academic skill development,including self-advocacy the number of options for Hartford students and their skills; the goal is to prepare students to get into and families to even out that playing field.” succeed at schools whose graduates go on to college. No one, including the mayor, would argue that Over the years, 90 percent of Steppingstone Scholars independent schools are the solution: these schools who have completed the 14-month academic component enroll fewer than 10 percent of U.S. students and do have been placed at independent or selective public not have the resources to provide financial assistance exam schools. But Steppingstone’sresponsibility to prepare to vast numbers of students who lack the funds to and support Scholars doesn’tend when they enter new attend them. Sustainable college access on a broader schools in sixth, seventh or ninth grade. Unlike students scale is contingent upon progress and additional for whom a college-preparatory education is a birthright investment in public schools, and indeed, Perez is handed down for generations, these young people need implementing curricular and structural changes in the support in their new environments. Steppingstone Hartford public school system. Still, local independent offers comprehensive services to ensure that the students schools are important fixtures in the long-term health are thriving—academically and socially—at their new of their communities and often-overlooked resources schools. Similarly, Steppingstone provides college- for students and families. counseling support, such as college visits and SAT CONNECTION SPRING 2007 19 preparation, to ensure that college matriculation is Academy’s pilot class. Upon acceptance, Steppingstone an obtainable goal for all Scholars. Fully 95 percent Scholars in Hartford will spend the following of Scholars who complete the 14-month preparation 14 months preparing for placement into and success program graduate from high school, and 96 percent at one of more than 20 partner independent schools of Scholars who graduate from high school enroll in in Connecticut, including day and boarding schools, afour-year college or university. single-sex schools and Catholic schools. Through further discussions with Steppingstone, While many mayors and community leaders might not Mayor Perez and other members of the HYSF board, include independent schools in a campaign to increase including Trinity College President Jim Jones, determined college access, Perez, HYSF and the Steppingstone that adapting a tested and replicable program model Foundation have provided a model of public/private was not only good for Hartford students and families, partnership for other cities with clusters of college- but also made good business sense. Citing Steppingstone’s prep-oriented independent schools to follow. As one record of getting kids into college and helping negotiate initiative within a larger campaign to increase college financial aid packages, Perez concluded the program “will access in Hartford, independent schools serve as an resonate with Hartford families.” important resource to help city leaders address the Asaresult of a formal partnership with the foundation, achievement gap, while contributingto the portfolio of HYSF will launch the Steppingstone Academy Hartford school options available to Hartford students and families. this summer with its first class of eighth-grade students. Middle school teachers and guidance counselors from Michael P. Danzigeris co-founder and president the Hartford Public Schools have already nominated of the Boston-based Steppingstone Foundation. more than 450 students for one of the 30 spots in the Email: [email protected]. What’s in Your Valise? Determining What Students Learn in College CLIFFORD ADELMAN called “unobtrusive evidence,” generated in the natural What would we think of U.S. higher course of students’ higher education. Transcripts don’t education if we knew that 59 percent lie, and common sense would hold the data to be of bachelor’s degree recipients completed transparent markers of achievement. Sure, a calculus two or more courses in college-level mathematics course at MIT is not the same as a calculus course at Old Siwash, but it’s still calculus. A journalism course such as statistics or calculus? Or that 35 percent at Northwestern is not the same course as that deliv- completed a writing course beyond freshman ered at Greentree Valley Community College, but they composition, a course such as technical writing, both have freshman composition as a prerequisite. creative writing or journalism? Would we think better Wecan do better, particularly in evidence of writing attainment, but with data such as those cited, do we of our business majors if we knew that 84 percent need a test to prove it? If we do, then what kind of test? crossed that two college-level math course threshold The issue of how we determine what college students and better of our chemistry, physics, and geology learn and who might report the answer to that question majors if we knew that 55 percent crossed the didn’t arise yesterday, though the recent report of U.S. Education Secretary’sCommission on the Future of advanced writing threshold? If we asked students what’s Higher Education treated it like the discovery of a new in their knowledge valise when they leave college, planet. The Commission report grabbed everything that would we consider these markers to be sufficient crossed its selective radar screen, every test or survey evidence of quantitative and communication skills? that someone told them did the job, and beat up on the Ididn’t make these numbers up: they come from higher education accrediting bodies for not doing enough the transcripts of college graduates in the most recently to make sure that colleges provide sufficient evidence completed national longitudinal study conducted by that something positive happened inside their students’ the U.S. Department of Education. They are what is heads. Continuing down this narrow road will not 20 NEW ENGLAND BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION