For College Prep Charter Schools Serving Underprivileged Communities, High School Graduation Is Just the Beginning

With a Majority of Students From South L.A., USC Hybrid High School Rejected Teaching to the Test to Focus on Getting 90 Percent of Graduates Through College

In 2012, USC’s Rossier School of Education, where I am the dean, began working in South L.A. to improve high school education. Our goals were to help disadvantaged students find a way to college, and, as scholars and educators, to build a school culture from the ground up using high-quality research.

This year, that work has passed a milestone as our first charter school, USC Hybrid High School, graduated its first senior class. All of the students graduated on time and all of them have been accepted into at least one …

By Karen Symms Gallagher | July 7, 2016

Using Art to Help Undocumented Students Become More Visible, On Their Own Terms

A Poet’s Powerful Example Inspired Immigrant Students in South L.A. to Dream Bigger

By Ky-Phong Tran | July 7, 2016

For three years, I was a high school English teacher at 103rd Street and Broadway, the southernmost tip of South Los Angeles, a stone’s throw west of Watts. Many Californians …

If Politics Has You Down, Crash a Graduation Ceremony

Today's College Grads Exude Optimism and a Commitment to Teamwork That Political Leaders Would Do Well to Emulate

By Michael M. Crow | June 6, 2016

Around the country, graduation speakers are stepping up to podiums to deliver messages of inspiration and hope. But this is not your typical graduation season. This year, speakers honored at …

Your Kid’s College Degree Might Be Worthless

Author Jeff Selingo Says Students Aren’t Getting the Skills They Need for Today’s Economy

By Sarah Rothbard | May 4, 2016

For decades, a college degree “was a signal that people were ready for the workforce,” a sign to parents that their children “were going to be golden in the job …

How the Knowledge Economy Delays Adulthood

There Is Life After College: What Parents and Students Should Know About Navigating School to Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow

By Jeffrey J. Selingo | April 29, 2016

In the wake of the Great Recession, story after story appeared about how members of the millennial generation had stalled after college graduation, and were desperately searching for the jobs …

Stress, Pregnancy, and Grief Shouldn’t Limit Success in School

Long Beach Is a Tough Place to Live, So I Want to Bring Health Care to My Fellow Students

Jocelyn Ly | December 4, 2015

In the next few weeks, a wellness center will open at Long Beach’s Roosevelt Elementary School, right across the street from Polytechnic High School. The center will have special hours …

Becoming Part of the Solution

At Crenshaw High, Students and Their Struggles Are Now the Curriculum

How South L.A.’s Santee Education Complex’s Graduation Rate Jumped Nearly 60 Percent in 11 Years

Two Assistant Principals Learned Their High School Didn’t Need a Special Status to Be Academically Rigorous and Locally Respected

Technology Is Not a Panacea for Struggling Schools

Sure, iPads Can Be Helpful, But They Can’t Create a Culture of Achievement

Free Community College Isn’t the Answer

The President’s Tuition Giveaway Won’t Land More People Middle-Class Jobs. Here’s What Will.

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