Immigrant Students and Public Schools: A Fluent Fit

In an age of perfect SAT scores, 4.5 GPAs, and the most competitive college admissions in history, some students are gaining an edge by obtaining their associate's degree before their high school diploma!

Many "underage" students opting to take college courses are enrolled in "early college high schools," Other public schools nationwide provide students with dual enrollment programs that help them earn their associate's degree during high school.

Doubling the Degrees

As a brainchild of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the "early college high school" trend is growing. Since 2002, more than 200 schools across 24 states and in Washington DC have been designated as early college campuses, according to the Early College High School Initiative. Specifically designed to cultivate the academic achievement of all students across socioeconomic, cultural, and language barriers, these high schools have helped many students obtain their associate's degree or earn credit towards their bachelor's degree – all while enrolled in high school. Better yet, students from these high schools make all this college credit tuition-free.

While most assume that only the "brightest and best" high school students can earn college degrees while in high school, this is not the case. In fact, according to The Washington Post, "Programs that allow students to earn college credit while in high school sound as if they have been designed for the smartest, most

While campus violence and bullying have been heated topics in recent years, the wake of a young teen's suicide, allegedly prompted by aggressive bullies, is forcing community members to reexamine the responsibility of schools in the fight against bullies.

Should Schools Pay the Price for Bullying?

In the most recent high school tragedy, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince sadly ended her own life after nine teenagers allegedly harassed and bullied the young girl. According to Slate News, District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel has filed charges against the nine alleged bullies, further asserting that Phoebe Prince endured three months of extreme bullying under the awareness of some school leaders. According to Scheibel, “The investigation has revealed that certain faculty, staff, and administrators of the high school also were alerted to the harassment of Phoebe Prince before her death.”

This video describes how parents of bullies may be liable.

In fact, supporting these claims are reports from Phoebe’s mother, as well as fellow students, who reported obvious struggles endured by the teen. For example, Phoebe’s mother was so concerned about her daughter’s depression at school that she contacted school officials on multiple occasions, asking about whether or not students were making threats and attacks against her daughter. Furthermore, some students reported seeing Phoebe crying in the hallway outside her classroom, as well as crying in the nurse's office on the day she took her life.

However, many argue

Do you dream of becoming the next big sports star? With athletics paving the way for collegiate scholarships and admissions, a rising number of high schools are creating programs specifically designed to foster athletically skilled students. In fact, in Canada, high schools designed specifically as sports academies are opening their doors – and American charter schools may soon follow suit.

How New Schools Balance Athletics with Academics

Many parents and students have expressed frustration over the demands of developing gifted athleticism alongside the rigors of the high school curriculum. While each school’s fundamental objective is to educate students, many argue that encouraging athleticism, training, and building teamwork also significantly contribute to a student's overall development. While many teens are forced to sacrifice grades to balance a sport's demands, select schools have begun experimenting with new athletic programs to challenge the status quo.

According to the National Post, the Toronto Public Board of Education, Canada's largest educational institution, has created a new basketball academy. At this campus, students with high athletic potential can improve both their physical and intellectual abilities. The academy's curriculum is designed to create a more symbiotic balance between the demands of the sport and academic work. Commonly referred to as “schools of choice” in Canada, these equivalents to America’s charter schools are becoming more popular.

This video looks at the benefits of high school sports.

Are Schools

AP courses, state standardized test scores, and teacher-to-student ratios: these are all measures utilized by parents to judge a public high school’s quality. However, what if parents have been evaluating all the wrong statistics? What if the best way to measure a public high school’s educational quality is by the success its students achieve after they graduate?

While some public high schools will proudly publish the colleges to which their seniors have been accepted, what happens to these students once they enter into the towers of higher education? Has their public high school education properly prepared them for the rigors of college?

All of these answers – and more – can actually be answered through research and data compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse.

Measuring a Public High School’s Success

As reported by the Washington Post, the National Student Clearinghouse manages a database of more than 93 million students enrolled in over 3,300 colleges. While this information was once compiled for student loan purposes, the Clearinghouse has now made this data available for high schools.

Included in the National Student Clearinghouse reports is a bevy of valuable information, such as:

• Institutions of enrollment
• College transfer statistics
• College graduation rates
• Types of degrees earned
• Majors pursued

The conclusions that could be gleaned from these reports are invaluable for both high schools and parents. For example, in the sample report evaluated by the Washington Post, the data showed:

• 76% of