As the College and Career Coordinator at New Rochelle High School, I see the students at the end of their high school careers. Although I think we try to have all students "college ready" a disproportionate number of students of color are unprepared for the college process or moving on to the rigors of college level work.  College and career readiness must begin in early years of a child's academic career. Too often the African American students and the Hispanic students do not come to the high school with the academic discipline to succeed in high school and move on to college. Having previously taught middle school, I believe that this is the time when a student learns to become an academic student or a student is "left in the dust" and this can create continued failure in high school and beyond. My strong belief for our students of color and all students who struggle is that there needs to be strong and personal academic intervention at the middle school level. To catch the challenged student before they fail. Children need to learn academic skills and good study habits at the middle school level, so that when they reach high school , they understand how to manage a more difficult work load. If this is accomplished, we will have more academically strong students of color taking AP and honors courses, and therefore more prepared to apply and enter college

 

Regards,

Hope Herzog

College and Career Coordinator New Rochelle High School