North Carolina's community colleges -- including Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte -- were cited in a national report this week highlighting efforts to streamline pathways from their classrooms to a university or career.
Too often, the report's authors say, students enroll in community colleges but gain no ground toward getting a degree or finding a job. While more students are taking classes, only about half are graduating within six years, and the percentage is falling.
North Carolina's community college system gets a plug for coming up with structured pathways to guide students through the curriculum. Basically, the schools have worked with universities in the state to make sure community college classes will be fully transferable and progress toward a degree.
Schools have streamlined requirements in career and tech programs and eliminated redundant classes.
A group of schools have also come up with a program for high school juniors or seniors that allows them to get on a track toward college transfer or a technical degree. It lays out what exact classes they'll need to take to stay on course.
The state has also been developing ways to get students through remedial work more quickly. Instead of enrolling in semester-long courses to get caught up, students are able to take combined reading and writing courses and focus only on math concepts they need work on. CPCC has built a dedicated computer lab on its campus to let students work through math concepts at their own pace.
The report comes from the national nonprofit Jobs for the Future, which advocates for change in schools and career-training programs to better train people in job skills.
The authors describe North Carolina's initiatives as model programs.
Ohio also gets a mention for tying state funding for community colleges to the percentages of students completing degrees or certain numbers of credit hours. Every public high school is also required to have dual-enrollment programs with a community college. These are starting to become more widespread in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools with CPCC.
Florida has passed a state law that creates "meta-majors" in community colleges that allow students to take prerequisites in broad fields like health science or business without choosing a specific major right away.
Friday, December 19, 2014
N.C. community colleges cited for guiding students to universities or careers
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38 comments:
Of course doing homework is important. Why would CMS even be debating or questioning this.
It doesn't mean that a teacher should give homework every night just for the sake of giving out work. There should be a purpose and a reason, correlating with something they are learning in class or going to learn the next day to support critical thinking and mastery of the subject matter.
I'll be you none of the local private schools are considering this. CMS is becoming a joke.
Anon 9:44, what you describe is exactly what CMS is saying.
What percentage of CMS students have to take remedial classes after HS graduation?
I went to Wake Tech for my first two years of college. I will say, they did a great job helping students transfer. You can transfer your 64 credits from your AA or AS degree after you graduate and you will be officially a junior. The information is all on the websites and the advisers were pretty nice and helpful.
- A UNC-Charlotte Graduate Student
CMS has reached a new low now, allowing students who are flunking AP classes to drop out mid year? Gotta keep those numbers looking good AK.
7:19
Only someone with a limited education would think the way you do.
The number of people I know (immediate family members and friends) with degrees from UConn, Arizona State, Wake Forest Univ., UMass/Amherst, George Washington Univ., Penn State, Yale, Harvard, Columbia University, Univ. of SC, and Williams College who have had a child or a family member attend community college would blow your mind.
"Idiot", "crapola", "stupid", (community college) "dummies"...
And out of curiosity, what college did YOU graduate from?
Alicia
And for those of you who have gone out of your way to attack me for teaching at a rural white charter school in a resort area - because public charter schools are all about getting a private school education for free.
The following was written by a mother at my school…
"Here is the story of the worst days of my life! And I pray to the lord above that NOBODY ever has to do this themselves.
On November 21st 2014 My mother/grandmother had to pick up our children from the school bus stop while we was helping a friend out, and 2 min after picking them up they was involved in an automobile accident.
After watching all the ambulances and highway patrol until and the helicopter go by we received the phone call and went towards accident. When we got there everyone was out of the car and either on the way to hospitals by either ambulances or air. We was told 2 children was and sent to Spartinburg, SC and the other 2 was air lifted to Asheville, NC children’s hospital and we need to go there fast as possible one of the kids required a breathing tube and just before we left to head that way they told us that the driver our mother had just passed in the ambulance next to us and we didn't even know. "We had no idea what child when where” My oldest son Bryson got out on his own and then started to help his brothers get out, but a unknown driver moved him to help. They got all the children out of the back seats and Nicky was injury to the temple area on the left side of his head, and Bryson had to take off his clothes to try to stop the bleeding for his brother Nicky. Our mother/Grandma Itsy had to be cut out and our next to oldest Tyler had to wait cause of his legs was broken. My 8 yr old son Nicky and 13 yr old son Tyler was air lifted to Mission Children’s Hospital In Asheville, NC and my 6 year old Clayton and 14 year old Bryson was transported to Spartanburg, SC Hospital. Bryson and Clayton were released and the two that was air lifted to Mission my Nicky had suffered a head injury and Tyler broke both legs. My Son Nicky was considered brain dead Saturday morning 8:00 am, and I had to make the hardest decision of my life to remove life support and he was pronounced dead at 3:05 22 Nov 2014.
The car grandma was driving was on my insurance and my vehicle insurance policy isn’t covering even the air lift, not including this ER for 4 kids and the other lady in the other car! "She has a broken collar bone" My sons was both in ICU and then my Tyler was sent to trauma for surgery on his legs Sunday morning and has received screws and rods in his legs, and is wheel chair bound for a couple months, he was released the day of our families double funeral. It will take months to get all the bills from the 5 Ambulance's, 2 Helicopters, and ER's and trauma units from 3 different Hospitals. The funeral bill alone for Nicky is $10,106.68and Helicopters are $28,744,78. and the bills are still coming in. I hate to ask people for help but I will help anyone I can, that’s the way we was raised. But with all of this happening to my family and the financial burden that has come with it is unbearable. I hate owing people money and this is bothering me real bad. If you can help my family by donating ANY amount my family will be so thankful. If you can’t help financially just please say a prayer for my children and family. Thank you each and every one that has helped already the gratefulness I have, can't be told in words, but I will say a prayer for all of you and the little children of the world.
Rest in peace Grandma "Itsy" 11-21-2014
Rest in peace my beloved son Nicky 11-22-2014
"NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CHILD HAS DONE, HOLD THEM, SUPPORT THEM, LOVE THEM.
BECAUSE YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT TOMORROW MAY BRING"
PLEASE SHARE OUR STORY TO ALL YOUR FRIENDS IN OUR TIME OF NEED!"
Alicia Durand, Grade 5
Math and Social Studies
Lake Lure Classical Academy
cont..
"Thank you to everyone. You all have helped more than I could ever imagine. And we was able to order Nicky's grave marker and I thank you so much".
www.gofundme.com
Medical and Funeral Fund
Brian McGuire in honor of 2nd grade Nikki McGuire.
Alicia
NC Public School Teacher
"Is anybody listening, does anybody care?".
- Vilma Leake
Should anyone feel inclined, the aforementioned family still needs a tremendous amount of help.
Alicia
Alicia, done!
was it Vilma Leake who stated "African American children are struggling in school because they need teachers who look like them"?
Hey VILMAAAAAA
JCSU did away with their education program. Wonder why ?
My favorite Vilma Leake-isms:
“Poor people don’t know how to steal from the federal government. They’re not smart enough,”
"What page are we on?"
"It's for the children"
Can we have 2015 be the year of Personal Responsibility?
9:52 AM
Your generosity made me cry. Thank you.
"There are no great acts, only small acts of great love".
- Mother Theresa
Alicia
Andrew,
I was wodering if you might consider writing a story about the althetic eligibity requirements for public schools in this state.
To give the readers an idea as to what I am referring to. A student can participate in sports if they "pass" three of they're 4 classes from the previous semester. In other words, they can have all d's and one F and be eligible to play sports. Unless I am mistaken, the students current class performance is not considered, so the student can be failing all of their current classes and be able to play sports. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
Students must have a 2.0 GPA from the previous semester to compete in that semesters sport
Students are given grades depending on which high school you attend.
Athletes are given Free Rides from paying the ridiculous $100 FEE depending on which high school to attend.
CMS Mafia
5:20...
The $100 or $50 fee, depending on high school or middle school, is based on the Free & Reduced Lunch program farce run by the USDA.
If you "qualify" for FRL, you are exempt from paying the fee.
The sheer unfairness and stupidity of this - which every CMS Board Member supports - is that CMS is only allowed to sample 3% of the total student body who receive FRL, which amounts to around 80,000 of the 145,000 students.
I believe there are about 16,000 athletes in CMS.
Since all students now get free breakfast and CMS can only audit a minute fraction of the FRL recipients, parents who are HONEST wind up getting screwed by CMS and the Board of Education over this ridiculous fee.
The Board of Education should scrap ALL sports if they can't afford for ALL students to play or charge ALL students the same fee, regardless of whether they can pay it or not.
...but of course they won't because they are too afraid to make the hard decisions necessary to improve education in Mecklenburg County.
We Charge What We Want !
Damn the Torpedoes
CMS Mafia
Was Heath Morrison a hard decision?
To hire or to fire?
CMS does whatever it wants with or without BofE approval. Break it up and give the taxpayers an equal representation.
Has the "Great Society" since LBJ solved our country's education problems? TRILLIONS of dollars spent with little to declining measurable results.
(Dunn) Is there any investigative issues with CMS for the New Year or are you on a month break?
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2015/01/03/5422646/george-battle-defends-handling.html
Laughable. Dunn writes as if he were paid big cash under table to make McCray and her mouthpiece Battle look good. What a joke. Everything is backwards and upside down.
Does anybody with half a brain believe anything this lying liberal 'rat attorney for the CMS school board says who is nothing but some local yocal with a cheap match book law degree who only got the job because of his paternal who was just as big a liar since the apple never falls far from the tree.
Battle defending up for this McCray incompetent totally par for the course in "gotcha back" brotha sista style. And they wonder why corruption and incompetence is so rampant and don't even try to get anything above a teacher job unless the "sorority" makes sure you are the right flavor making 150k to start.
There is so much corruption lying cheating stealing and general inept administration it defies logic and will never be corrected until they clean house and take out the trash like Battle and McCray.
The Heath Morrison example is living proof where a top notch superintendent was hired only for show but was required to keep the "gap" and payoffs intact in order to keep those billions in gravy train loot flowing with no cuts.
Morrison to his credit had more integrity in his little finger than Battle, McCray and the entire board and administration and bucked the trend so he was ousted on his back side immediately.
The multiple felonious Atlanta school scandal of a few years ago that sent all the top administrators and board to jail would pale in comparison to CMS if the real truth ever surfaced but it is under wraps and tight lips will never allow it exposed to the light in 100 yrs.
Cannon told the truth about the payoff scandal running from the WH to city hall and all usual suspects are involved but Obama and Holder stopped the investigation at Cannon who took the hatchet for all the others for a shorter sentence trade off.
With the new Red State game in town in DC, Congress may decide to renew the FBI full investigation and clean up all this massive fraud with more and corruption with more arrests but that remains to be seen.
For now CMS Battle and McCray have succeeded in "status quo" and "the gap" continuance indefinitely so grab your ankles and bend over while your wallet and bank account get cleaned out again.
On 2nd thought, Republicans may clean up this joint and even top the 35 lawyers, administrators and school boarders jailed in Atlanta a few yrs ago for the biggest corruption and fraud in American education history.
Poor Heath Morrison who was only trying to help a system who did not want help.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/07/education/test-scandal-in-atlanta-brings-more-guilty-pleas.html?_r=0
bj
Right On!
Way to go bj
BJ,
None of this matters. It's the same garbage that has been going on for decades.
You can replace Morrison, Battle, McCray, et al and nothing will change.
Public education continues to dumb down management and students. The new 10 point scale is another example.
Until we put a fair, efficient system in place, fire about half of the admin, tell students and parents they will no longer be given excuses for bad behavior and disrespect and let teachers -TEACH - public education will continue its spiral down the toilet.
If I hear the term "21st Century Learning" and "technology is the answer" one more time from my CMS principal I'm going to scream.
How can traditional styles of classroom instruction engage and inspire students when life outside the classroom has changed so dramatically? Teenagers in the United States spent 60% of their media time on cell phones, the Internet, and games, higher than ever before. For many kids, class is the only time in their day when they can completely ‘disconnect.’
Rather than question how much is too much technology, our school district is wondering how we can increase the screen time of teenagers by filling in the
one relatively screen free time — school. As a parent, I am quite concerned about this trend.
Wiley,
Public education in this country is not quite as bad as you have asserted, not just yet! It is true that CMS is a lost cause and will only get worse, as you have pointed out, it's all about demographics. 30.5% does not bode well for CMS and that number is only going to shrink!
2:00...
May I ask your age?
Keep diggin Dunn Keep DiGGin
You may scoop the Atlanta story yet.
Has anything been written about the staff attorneys whose pay Battle was trying so hard to increase. Could you give us names, education, former employers, etc? Are they a diverse group?
Could it be true? Is CMS allowing a STEM magnet for those in 28277? Kennedy Middle is being allowed to take those in this zip. Who is going to get in trouble for approving that one?
Wiley,
I am 48 years old.
5:20
I hate to be Debbie Downer but if history is any indication, Kennedy M.S. need not worry about a sudden influx of students from 28277. That dog ain't likely to hunt.
I could be wrong, but CMS' hyper-Heathy expansion of magnet schools will never be a solution to solving "the gap".
Alicia
I view the hyper expansion of CMS magnet schools no different than I view the hyper expansion of charter schools.
In the process of trying to compete with charter schools while still holding on to archaic social engineering ideals, it's possible CMS may wind up undermining well established and successful magnet schools that should have been the system's primary focus. Instead of directing limited funds to well established magnet schools in an effort to make each the very best they can be, CMS has effectively made magnet schools run-of-the- mill rather than something unique and special which has the potential affect of making magnet schools less desirable while traditional neighborhood schools continue to get short changed. Case in point, how likely is it that Kennedy MS is going to be inundated with students from the 28277 zip code? A more likely scenario is having a handful of students sign up who live in 5 different places but are now entitled to transportation on a half empty bus that picks up and drops off at 5:30 AM and 6:15 PM.
The hyper expansion of charter schools at willy-nilly pace should also be of concern because while some will become highly successful, others have no business opening their doors in the first place.
Charlotte goes Wild West!
Alicia
anon 5:20pm - the reason CMS is pushing the Kennedy MS STEM school to 28277 is to relieve overcrowding at Comm House MS.
Is there a reason CMS added a STEM magnet program at Kennedy MS when 81% of students are below grade level in math and 70% of students are below grade level in reading? How stupid does CMS think the average parent is who lives in the 28277 area and has children at CHMS?
How about a Remedial Reading and Math (RRM) magnet program at Kennedy?
Strike up the band for yet another failed social engineering experiment at the expense of students at overcrowded south Charlotte schools who receive considerably less in per-pupil spending but pay the majority of taxes to keep up the status quo.
can we find out how many 28277 parents are going to willingly spend their child to kennedy? Mine guess is zero.
The problem with short changing distinctly unique and successful magnet schools that should have been CMS' primary focus in an effort to make each the very best it can be.
Welcome to: THE OVERDONE MAGNET (like an overdone prostitute).
Because there are now too many clashing calamities for the mind to grasp, the beautiful assortment of "Well-Established Magnets" now goes by a different name: "Hodge-Podge Magnets".
Alicia
12:20pm - you are right on point. CMS does think many parents are too stupid, just look at some of the programs they have launched over the past couple of years that aren't working "as planned" but the parents were assured by administration that these were good decisions for the children.
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