Lack of College Readiness

High schoolers being done a disservice with antiquated policies created during the time to serve student graduation and retention during Covid. As I college professor, I am a firsthand witness to how these policies are doing irreparable damage to student achievement at the next level.

I want to sustain and improve upon traditional curriculum that makes students college and career ready.

• I am concerned with the unhealthy trend to put social/political issues in school rather than academics. There are only 180 days in the school year to work with, and school officials, particularly in elementary and middle school, need to stick with instructing the main skill sets of Math, Reading, Writing, and Science, void of social distractions.
• Let’s protect what we’ve done well, yet further develop and improve upon other approaches.
• For example, the Carroll County Career and Technical Center (CCTC) is a strong resource. Students can get certified in Health, Engineering, Construction, Automotive, Arts and Media, Criminal Justice, and more. CCTC provides a direct pathway to jobs in these fields. Even a bus takes students to the facility.
• Yet, CCTC has limitations. The Blueprint mandates that students to be college-ready by 10^th grade as opposed to 11^th grade; this puts stricter limits on class options that are not core courses. Let’s continue to be open-minded with CCTC courses that could be counted toward core course offerings.
• Also positive is students’ ability to serve as Teacher’s Assistants or shadow a teacher for a semester or a year; this can bring invaluable instructional experience and increased marketability.
• While in high school, from 9^th to 12^th grade, students can attend and receive free tuition from Carroll Community College. Dual enrollment allows for the potential to earn an Associate degree along with a high school diploma.
• The Agricultural Center is a rich resource that is not being well-utilized by our schools. This seems odd considering Carroll County’s “Agricultural Land Preservation” ranks 2^nd in the entire country, and that agriculture is interwoven in the fabric of Carroll County jobs, industry, and culture.
• Improved diversity can come from increased offerings of foreign languages. Some schools are limited to French and Spanish offerings, but I would like for students to have their options to expand with such courses as Russian, Chinese, and Japanese.