College ... or die

 We had an amazing opportunity to visit Tindley Accelerated High School, a charter school in Indianapolis. The school was started to allow African American children to see that going to college (university) is absolutely within the realms of possibility and that through effort and persistence, they will achieve a college education. All ethic origins are welcome to attend this school (they even have an Aussie exchange student), however, the majority of the students are African American. The motto "College ... or die" shows the high expectations there are for all students to achieve.

 The mission for the school states that "The Tindley Accelerated Schools, in cooperation with parents and the broader community, will empower its students -- regardless of past academic performance -- to become successful scholars who graduate with the capacity for selective college opportunities."

Going to Tindley School was an eye-opener for me. It was my first experience of a Charter School, and there has been such a lot of politicizing about charter schools in NZ. Here at Tindley, although the population demographic is mainly black and low income, there is a real drive, both from the school and the community, to achieve success. In fact, the school has Title 1 funding and ALL of the students are entitled to free or reduced cost lunch. 

All students in this school are doing honours classes (like an extension programme). The students might not be classed as honours students in other public schools, however, at Tindley, all do Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Calculus, Algebra, Geometry, Social Studies, Spanish and Advanced Placement English. The only options available are Physical Education, Art and Vocal Music. There is no Home Economics or Wood shop; all subjects are directly leading to a high level, academic programme that will ensure entry into top universities.

If students struggle, they stay at school until 5.30 for extra tuition. One parent provides food at 3.30 every day for students who are staying to get extra help.The expectation is that ALL students will go to college and ALL will succeed. Students are called scholars. The cohort groupings (like our houses) are named after universities -- Harvard, Carnegie Mellon, Brown, Purdue, Columbia, Stanford, etc. 

Most of these students (oops, I mean scholars) were never exposed to the idea of college being an option for them when they were young. Many white kids grow up with college being discussed in their families and so it is always part of their thinking -- these students don't know names of universities before they come to Tindley. They become scholars by being given a high expectation. They choose the school and then work to make learning successful.

 It's not softly, softly either; the students have to work hard and so do the teachers. There is a high turn-over of teachers because of the burn out that comes with devoting so many hours a day to their students' success. I remember a parent in New Zealand saying once that her son needed to be pushed, and I wondered what she meant. Was she prepared for him to do extra work? Was she prepared for him to make up extra time at school if assignments weren't completed on time? The parents in this community are totally behind the rules and structures of this school. I wonder if some people in New Zealand want success for their children, but without the student having to put in the effort.

This is our wonderful Friday seminar coordinator, Hope Rias, who is a doctoral student at Indiana University. She used to teach at Tindley before she started her Ph.D programme and arranged this inspiring visit for us.