WAMC: The Best of Our Knowledge # 973 (2009-05-11)

The Best of Our Knowledge

The Best of Our Knowledge # 973

(2009-05-11)

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ALBANY, NY (WAMC) - DAILY LESSONS: INSIDE WESTERN GUILFORD HIGH SCHOOL

"A RADICALLY CHANGED ECONOMY: WHAT ARE YOU GOING
TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?" -

Not a day goes by that we don't hear something about how our economy has radically changed. We all know someone in our family or neighborhood who's been impacted by the current recession.

Like many areas of the country, the manufacturing and agricultural jobs in North Carolina that once fueled the economy are fast disappearing, replaced by jobs that require more skills and higher education.

Many educators say high schools must prepare all students for higher education. Others say high schools cannot forget students just because they might not be headed to college.

Administrators and teachers at Western High are trying to walk that fine line, preparing students for a mixed economic landscape, one their parents would not recognize.

Alison Jones reports. (8:02)

"A COMPLETE AND COMPETITIVE AMERICAN EDUCATION," Pt. 1 of 2
EDUCATION POLICY REMARKS BY PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AT
THE U.S. HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IN WASHINGTON -

In what many term as his first major policy speech on education, President Barack Obama, outlined a sweeping education reform agenda in his remarks to the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

President Obama grouped his education reforms into five pillars including:
Early childhood initiatives;
Better standards and assessments;
Recruiting, preparing, and rewarding outstanding teachers;
Promoting innovation and excellence; and
Providing every American with a quality higher education.

Mr. Obama also focused on the importance of world-class standards, data systems that can track students' academic progress, and the need to focus on the 2-thousand high schools that account for over 50% of the nation's dropouts.

This week and next week, we'll hear portions of the president's remarks. And in a few weeks, we'll feature a special report on the massive dropout crisis.

Glenn Busby reports. (8:32)

**(Attention Listeners and Program Directors. The website given at the conclusion of the above segment for those who might like to see a video presentation of some of the president's remarks is: www.ed.gov.)**

EDUCATION HEADLINES, UPDATES AND CORRECTIONS -

The Best of Our Knowledge would like to set the record straight and make a correction to a story we broadcast earlier this spring. In our show #966 March 23rd, we incorrectly identified Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia as the former Randolph-Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia. We regret the error. Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia was founded in 1830 and remains a private, co-educational liberal arts and sciences college. Randolph-Macon is ideally located just minutes north of the capital city Richmond and 90 miles south of Washington D.C. with an Amtrak station 25 feet from campus. Randolph-Macon has an enrollment of 1200 students, and an outstanding reputation for its exceptional faculty, national and international internships, study abroad, undergraduate, research and its unique First-Year Experience programs. The distinctive balance between the demanding academic program at Randolph-Macon College and the individualized attention they receive, or these special "moments of connection," prepares each student for a lifetime of extraordinary success."

In other education news, over 70% of students in the 2009 freshman college class may be looking at big changes in their education plans due to economic pressures. That's according to a national study just released called, "Economic Impact On College Enrollment." Topping the list of likely changes is; attending a less expensive college, a heavier reliance on financial aid, attending an in-state institution or one that's closer to home, working while attending school, and living at home.

Meanwhile, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation plans to spend several hundred million dollars over the next five years to double the number of low-income young people who complete a college degree or certificate program by age 26. If successful, the new postsecondary program would result in an additional 250-thousand people per year with some type of higher-education credential.

Glenn Busby reports. (2:30)
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