Have you heard the one about that isolated charter school or principal or teacher or class that defied expectations and boosted educational outcomes for a challenging group of students?
Probably.
Do you wish you’d heard the one about dramatic change at an urban school on the kind of scale we’ll need to move the needle and truly boost educational achievement and attainment, especially for students of color and low-income students?
Try this: Cincinnati Public Schools. It’s a dramatic, no-excuses success story that proves that both achievement and equity in a large urban school district is possible
What happened in Cincinnati?
Graduation rates in Cincinnati increased from 51% in 2000 to 80% in 2009. The graduation rates for African American students and white students have remained at similar levels since 2006. Improving both achievement and equity in a large urban school district is possible, and Cincinnati Public Schools prove it.
High school graduation rates in Cincinnati increased from 51% in 2000 to 80% in 2009. They jumped dramatically – from about 47% to 80% – for students of color, who account for 70 percent of the student population, but rose, also, for white students from 59% to 84%. For years 2002 to 2009, the rate for low-income students increased about from about 54% to 76%.
The graduation gap between African American students and white students was closed, with the rate somewhat higher for African American students in 2006 and 2007 before dipping somewhat after that.
Achievement scores for the Cincinnati Public Schools improved tremendously on the State of Ohio’s performance index, used to gauge academic proficiency for school districts and schools.
College enrollment and readiness has bumped up, too, with colleges in the Cincinnati area reporting more of the city’s high school graduates enrolling, and more students from the local area entering classes ready for the academic challenges and staying in college over time.
How did Cincinnati do it?
Teaching teams in the schools, student-based budgeting, more autonomy at the school level, and closer working relationships between students and teachers helped create the inspiring jump in Cincinnati’s high school graduation rates.
The school district was not alone, however, in its efforts to reform schools and improve achievement for all students. The local business community, teachers unions and national experts on school change all played key roles in improving Cincinnati’s schools.
Failing neighborhood high schools were converted into several small, specialized schools, and students now choose, from all the high schools in the district, which one they want to attend.
Cincinnati adopted a more equitable method for funding schools. Student-based budgeting there means that money to schools follows the students, and this budgeting approach allows schools to decide how the money is spent. Additionally, students that cost more to educate—English language learners, low-income students and gifted students, for example—are supported with more funding.
High Schools in Cincinnati now boast programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math), performing arts, liberal arts and information technology. Once failing public schools are starting to catch the attention of national media. Check out these stories on the transformation of Taft Technology High and Withrow University High.
Interestingly, one of key change agents in Cincinnati is Minnesota’s own Center for School Change at Macalester College in St. Paul, run by Joe Nathan.
Too often in Minnesota we shake our heads in dismay over poor performance in urban schools, and wonder aloud if things can change. Cincinnati shows they can.
Minnesota currently has a 32-percentage point gap in graduation rates between its white students and students of color. As José Pacas points out in his Growth & Justice blog post, this is a problem for all Minnesotans, not just communities of color.
Cincinnati took no excuses as they worked to close the racial gap in their graduation rates. It’s time to close the gap here, too.
[Click here to find the Growth & Justice case study on Cincinnati Public Schools.]
— Amelia Cruver
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