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Campaign to encourage students to take rigorous courses Thursday, Sep 21, 2006 By Betsy Turner Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - State education officials Wednesday kicked off a new media campaign to emphasize the importance of rigorous courses to student achievement. Arkansas high school students need the rigorous courses offered through the state's Smart Core curriculum to succeed after graduation, state Education Commissioner Ken James said during a summit on the redesign of high school curricula to prepare students for jobs and post-secondary education. Educators, business leaders and legislators attended the summit held at the Statehouse Convention Center. Under Smart Core, students take four courses each in math and English, plus three each in natural science and social studies. James said participating in the program ensures that students have the opportunity to learn the skills and knowledge required for college or the work place. "Taking Smart Core now means more choices later in life," James said. The state will take several steps to educate the public about the courses, he said, including an eight-page insert in NEXT Magazine for high schools students. Starting Monday, the program will be featured in television advertising cable channels. Radio ads are scheduled to begin airing in October. Part of the campaign will be to discourage parents from opting to waive their child's participation in the more challenging curriculum. Last year, almost 10 percent of seventh and eight grade students opted out of the program. James said he hoped the Legislature next year would revisit the opt-out clause in the Smart Court program, which he said sent a mixed message about the importance of the courses. Also speaking at the conference, Gov. Mike Huckabee said he saw a crisis facing Arkansas high schools. He said several statistics indicate students are not succeeding in the current model for high schools. For example, he said 20 percent of Arkansas ninth graders do not stay in school until graduation, with the numbers even higher for minorities. He said the state was not preparing students adequately by allowing them to graduate without basic, fundamental skills needed for success after high school. Huckabee said high schools needed to deliver the three R's: Rigor, relevance and relationship. "We have large groups of kids, not just across the country but here in our state, that because of where they live, or because of how much money they have or what color their skin is, they are not enrolled in the same rigorous classes or facing the same high expectations from their teachers," the governor said. He called the gap between expectations for students "immoral." Arkansas is one of the leading states in coming up with solutions to improve the quality of education, said Matt Gandel, the executive director of Achieve, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based organization which focuses on ways to improve the high school education experience. He said the state showed its commitment to high standards for all students by making Smart Core the default curriculum. Along with higher standards, he said, states should improve cooperation between K-12 education, higher education and the business community. |
