NOTE: This is the introduction to Fordham Ohio's latest report—Pathway to Success: DECA prepares students for rigors of college, realities of life—researched and written by former Dayton Daily News editor and journalist Ellen Belcher. You can read the full report here. It is the first in a series of charter school student profiles.
Too much of what we hear about urban public schools in America is disheartening. A student’s zip code—whether she comes from poverty or economic privilege—often predicts her likelihood of educational (and later-life) success. Motivated by this unacceptable reality, some schools have worked relentlessly against the odds to deliver excellent educational opportunities to students no matter their background. Charter schools in particular have played a role in creating high-quality choices for urban students. Many are led and staffed by incredible visionaries who hold high expectations for all students and have made it their mission to ensure that more inner-city kids make it to (and through) college. When we hear about these schools, it behooves us to pay attention—to celebrate them, study them, and do our damnedest to support them. While there’s no silver bullet for fixing what ails urban public education, there are common undercurrents of success worth observing and learning from. Just as important, we should hear from students themselves. There’s no more compelling case for high-quality school choice than hearing about the life-changing impact it has had on students and their families.
In this instance, that choice comes in the form of a charter high school: the Dayton Early College Academy (DECA), an island of excellence in one of Ohio’s poorest and most academically challenged districts. Ninety-five percent of its students are non-white, and three out of four are economically disadvantaged; yet 98 percent of DECA’s students were proficient on the reading portion of the Ohio Graduation Test, and 100 percent were in math, compared to 67 percent and 57 percent for Dayton Public. The college attendance and completion rates further set it apart as a model of urban high school success. The unique opportunities and supports it provides to students—both academic and personal—are showcased briefly through the story of Khadidja, an inspiring young woman whose future is so bright, it nearly blinds.
Khadidja's experience in an excellent charter school has helped forge a very different future than the one facing many of her urban peers. We hope that her story reminds readers that student voices are vital in day-to-day reform conversations and that expectation-shattering, odds-defying charter schools like hers are worth fighting for.
