Dive Brief:
- Some of the most elite universities in the United Kingdom are sending staff members to primary and secondary schools to talk to students, especially in white working class and immigrant communities.
- The Telegraph reports the vice chancellor of Nottingham University, Sir David Greenaway, finds the initiative necessary to raise the aspirations of students who don’t have the same exposure to college as their private school counterparts.
- In response to criticism of the quality of public schools, these universities are offering arts, philosophy, classics, brain science, speaking and listening lessons to younger students and talking to them about the university, in hopes that one day they’ll be able to get into one of the elites.
Dive Insight:
At last week’s New York Times Higher Ed Leaders Forum, one of the key themes was the need to bridge the gap between college expectations and high school preparedness. One proposed remedy was sending college professors to work in high schools to allow them to shape the curriculum and help students start thinking about college as a possibility for them.
Early College High Schools have also aspired to close this gap, giving students access to college-level work from the comfort and safety of their high schools. Students who attend such schools graduate with an associate degree in addition to their high school diploma. P-TECH in New York City has been lauded as model school worthy of replication throughout the country.