Fifteen percent of Ohio’s high schools are “drop-out factories” – schools that fail to graduate even 60 percent of their students on time. Those students who do graduate often aren’t ready for college or work: College-remediation rates top 70 percent for some of Ohio’s urban school districts.
Yet, some high schools buck these bleak trends and help their students not only graduate, but go on to successful post-secondary careers and opportunities.
The Thomas B. Fordham Institute recently studied six high schools across Ohio that prove that disadvantaged youngsters can learn at levels equal to or greater than their more fortunate peers in the suburbs. Fordham’s forthcoming report, Needles in a Haystack: Lessons from Ohio’s high-performing urban high schools, reports on these exceptional schools and how they help their students excel.
On January 15 in Dayton, two of these schools – Stivers School for the Arts and Dayton Early College Academy – will share their stories. Needles’ author, veteran journalist and former news editor of Life magazine Peter Meyer, will discuss what he learned in these schools and others in Columbus and Cleveland. The event will conclude with a panel discussion among the schools’ leaders and audience Q&A.
Questions we expect to tackle include:
- Can great schools help kids overcome poverty and tough home lives?
- Is there a secret sauce to the success of schools like Stivers and DECA? If so, what is it and can it be replicated in other buildings?
- What is the role of school leaders in high performing high schools?
- What should parents look for in great high schools, and how do they know if their child is in one?
- What state and local policies would help more such schools open and thrive?
Join us for an important discussion on these questions and more.
Beating the Odds: Inside Dayton’s high-performing public high schools
Stivers School for the Arts · Centennial Auditorium
January 15, 2013 · 7 to 9 pm
No RSVP necessary. This event is free and open to the public
With questions, please call the Fordham Institute at 614-223-1580