Graduation Is Not Enough

Karen Polsonetti • Cahn Fellow 2020

This narrative reviews the process of a small school community as they grapple with the gap between their graduation rate and their college readiness rate. It will explore the systemic equity issues that contribute to inequitable educational expectations, as well as the barriers within the school system that prevent students from achieving and/or displaying their college readiness. This journey begins with the principal digging into the DOE expectation of College  Readiness and exploring the data to discover where students are missing the benchmark. It continues with the leadership team analyzing three areas: instructional expectations,  standardized testing data, and participation in college programs. The community will use the book “Cultivating Genius” by Gholdy Muhammed and “Courageous Conversations about Race” by Glenn Singleton to unpack equity and create equitable next steps as a school community.