A Bridgeton Approach to a College Education
By Albert B. Kelly
Nowadays, I think we would all agree that the path to a
successful and prosperous career involves getting a college education. It
sounds fairly simple and straight forward, but it’s really not. To begin with,
many students feel that a college degree is something that will always be
beyond their reach.
Even for those who do see college as something within their grasp,
they grab for it knowing that they will carry around a massive amount of debt
to cover tuition, books, and everything else that comes with getting a college education.
Not for nothing, but we also have the growing “for profit”
colleges- the ones you see on daytime TV promising degrees in HVAC, auto
repair, paralegal, or computers. These colleges are known for their strong-arm
recruitment schemes, inflated enrollment numbers, false information about job
placements, and misleading information on courses and fees
Then there is the issue of graduation rates. Recent stats
from the US Department of Education say that only 40% of full-time students
graduate on time. Whether it is because they stop part way through or because
they carry fewer credits so they can work part-time, it all adds up to
thousands of extra dollars and usually more debt- and usually no degree.
But what if there was a way to do a hybrid program,
something that was a cross between high school and college so that by the time
a student graduates as a senior in high school, he or she would have one heck
of a head start toward earning a bachelor’s degree?
Such a thing exists in the form of the Carver Early College
High School Program and it is up and running right here in Bridgeton. This
“early college high school” (ECHS) model is working in various places nation-wide
with great success.
Thanks to the inspired efforts of Dawn Watkins at Stockton
University working with Bridgeton Schools Superintendent Dr. Thomasina Jones, along
with Cumberland County College and the George Washington Carver Education
Foundation; this program is the first of its kind in Cumberland County and is a
game-changing model for students taking advantage of the opportunity.
This is no small thing, especially for those kids who are on
the outside looking in when it comes to higher education- kids who often
represent the first generation in their family line to go to college, kids for
whom English is a second language, and kids who contend with poverty.
Assuming these students complete the early college/high
school track, they would be in a position to transfer credits over to Stockton
University to nail down a bachelor’s degree. Courses of study include
everything from computer science and health sciences, to nursing, business
management, and entrepreneurship.
Needless to say, I am thrilled to support these young people
carving out a path to success. I am also excited to think about Bridgeton’s
future where some of these newly trained and professional young men and women
come back to Bridgeton and become the business owners, entrepreneurs,
government officials, homeowners- the next generation fabric of our community.
This very thing- empowering and equipping 50 students who
might otherwise be marginalized and who live in a community that’s often
dismissed as marginalized- is an investment in our future. The return on this
investment may be for a future season, but the pull of home is strong and some
of these students will come back and make it stronger.
This ECHS initiative comes on top of the 23 Bridgeton
students receiving full scholarships to a 4-year university through “Give
Something Back Foundation”. These opportunities to get a college education
change the trajectory of families and future generations for the better.
These opportunities also mean that we, as parents and
adults, have to work that much harder on the early childhood education front in
order to position these young people to succeed within the framework of ECHS.
As the first school district in South Jersey to offer the
Carver Early College High School model, we have an obligation to do it well
here in Bridgeton. With ECHS providing this pathway of hope and opportunity, developing
good habits early in the areas of attendance, study, and test-taking will be
critical.
If you are interested in finding out more about Carver Early
College High School Bridgeton, please contact program coordinator Penny Britt
at (856) 455-8030 Ext 1202 or program manager Dr. Jerome Taylor at (609)
501-5125.