Welcome to the Business Journal Archives
Search for articles below, or continue to the all new BusinessJournalDaily.com now.
Search
'Incredible Adventure' Begins at Youngstown Early College
By Dennis LaRueYOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- On a humid, threatening morning, after hearing remarks that were anything but brief and tended toward repetition about the promise Youngstown Early College High School holds, 26 dignitaries cut a ribbon Friday that marked its opening.The school has accepted 75 ninth graders in Youngstown City Schools deemed capable of performing college-level work. They began classes a week ago and their program is the first of its kind on a public university campus in Ohio.Each year for the next three years, another 75 to 100 students in city schools who show academic promise will be enrolled in the program. By the time a senior graduates, he or she will have earned up to 60 semester hours credit, two years' worth.The premise is that the students who participate will graduate and go on to college, that Youngstown Early College will give them a leg up in pursuing the professions they choose.The bills for the students' tuition will be picked up by Youngstown City Schools and Youngstown State University. Inside YSU's Fedor Hall, home of Youngstown Early College, workmen were still putting the finishing touches on the converted third-floor classrooms. Fedor Hall was built as Elm Street Elementary School, acquired by YSU in the mid 1960s to house its school of education, and today houses the student newspaper, The Jambar, and a day-care center.Larry Johnson, a YSU alumnus (he took education classes in Fedor) and dean of the new high school, declared the day "a momentous occasion." The president of YSU, David C. Sweet called it "a great day for YSU, Youngstown, Youngstown City Schools and the Mahoning Valley."City schools superintendent Wendy Webb stated, "This is a powerful moment" and promised "It's going to work." Chad P. Wick of Cincinnati, chief executive officer of KnowledgeWorks Foundation, funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, informed the audience, "You're doing the Lord's work. I'm a missionary on a crusade to disprove the myth that because of race, income status or class, [these students] can't succeed."Retired federal appellate judge Nathaniel Jones was "so moved by this" and said he was "so happy that the school system that gave me my education has married the institution that gave me my higher education." He praised the programs' backers for their "vision, determination and courage."The state superintendent of public instruction, Susan Tave Zelman, remarked that Friday "was an incredibly exciting day" that is the beginning of "an incredible adventure" for the 75 students. "You'll be the global entrepreneurs of the 21st century," she told them.State Sen. Mark Dann, D-32 Liberty, asserted, "We have done something great today." Having talked to three of the 75 YEC students just before the ceremonies began, he discovered one, Eric, wants to be a professional baseball player, and promised Sweet that Eric would return to YSU at the end of his career in sports and make a sizeable contribution. Two girls, Meghan and Kristin, want to be a veterinarian and a pediatrician.Addressing Bruce Beeghly, a member of the Ohio Board of Regents, Dann concurred that "It's important to hear about the students' dreams, it's important they have dreams."Youngstown Early College, Beeghly said, takes a step toward access to a quality education and to higher education, an issue that has long been a concern of the regents. The five A's of access, Beeghly said, are affordability, availability, aspiration, attainability and academic preparation.With Youngstown Early College, the tuition expense is shared by YSU and city schools, he noted. And it will help break the cycle of lack of aspiration as the 75 students return to their neighborhoods and spread the word about their accomplishments.As for attainability, "Too many Ohioans believe they are not college material," Beeghly said, which is not the case. They need the academic preparation and to have confidence in their abilities, he said.An incoming ninth grader, India Harris, spoke to those not there, the naysayers. "Many people believe this program will fail," she reminded the audience. "But those people will be amazed at how much we can accomplish."Superintendent Webb was also forceful in her assertions that the program will succeed and told the 75 ninth graders that the eyes of the education community will be on them, that they have a responsibility, not just to themselves to succeed, but to make sure that those who follow also get a chance to follow their dreams.Contact Dennis LaRue at [email protected]"