K-12 partnerships

New England Journal of Higher Education, The, Winter 2001 by Cronin, Joseph M

K- 12 Partnerships Joseph M. Cronin

The Learning Connection: New Partnerships Between Schools and Colleges, Gene L. Maeroff, Patrick M. Callan and Michael D. Usdan, Teachers College Press, 2001, $20.95

Penn's Center for Community Partnerships, asserts in The Learning Connection, "universities cannot afford to remain shores of affluence, self-importance, and horticultural beauty at the edge of seas of squalor, violence and despair."

So what have universities done to help reform schools or rebuild urban communities? This slim paperback describes efforts, most of them experimental and daring, to cross the pedagogical divide and commit higher education resources to poor schools and neighborhood renewal.

The book is skillfully edited by former New York Times editor Gene Maeroff, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education President Pat Callan and former Connecticut Higher Education Commissioner Michael Usdan.

Twelve chapters by journalists at metropolitan daily newspapers recount how a dozen higher education institutions during the 1990s pledged resources to make a difference.

Examples: Twenty-two California State Universities committed to help 232 local high schools prepare students for the rigors of university studies. The University of Southern Colorado made the local school superintendent in Pueblo a university vice president to signal unity of purpose and the start of joint education ventures in the steel mill community. Penn's Center for Community Partnerships developed a model of faculty and student involvement in community problem-solving and research that nine other universities have adopted.

The cases outlined in The Learning Connection range from school governance to equity initiatives to state standards, teacher development and community-building. The book features two well-known New England initiatives: Trinity College President Evan Dobelle's marshaling of federal, foundation, city and private funds to build a Learning Corridor of schools, health facilities and youth service centers in a once dying Hartford neighborhood, and former Boston University President John Silber's bold offer to manage Chelsea, Mass., schools, resulting in seven new school buildings, expanded early childhood programs, an increase in SAT scores and student access to college. A longer book might have also included worthy New England examples from Providence, R.I., Worcester and Fitchburg, Mass., New London, Conn., and Boston.

In the 19th century, John Henry Newman urged universities to remain aloof, so scholars could criticize the imperfections of society. Today, there is strong support for the "engaged university," exemplified by the New England Board of Higher Education's 1999 Future of New England survey, which revealed that 86 percent of "opinion leaders" in government, business, education and the media want colleges to reach out to help improve the public schools.

In a concluding chapter, the editors suggest these fascinating examples might not be adaptable to settings where presidents are less charismatic and trustees less supportive. Shame on us in New England if we don't prove them wrong.

Joseph M. Cronin is president of Edvisors Inc. He is a former president of Bentley College and former secretary of educational affairs in Massachusetts. Cronin was also the founding executive director of the International Center for Distance Learning in Boston.