Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Investment in Education Pays Off

  • By Deb Moore
  • 06/01/10
A few years back, I wrote a story about Kalamazoo, a city of approximately 75,000, located in the southwest corner of Michigan’s lower peninsula approximately 136 miles west of Detroit. In 2005, the per capita income for the city was $20,088, and about 30 percent of the city population lived below the poverty line. What Kalamazoo does have going for it is “The Kalamazoo Promise,” a program designed to guarantee educational opportunities for students in the Kalamazoo Public Schools. All students who graduate from KPS, have continuous residency and enrollment in the district and have been KPS students four years or more are eligible for the program. Anonymous donors fund up to 100 percent tuition for eligible KPS graduates at public colleges and universities in Michigan. What a great incentive for students — go to school, graduate and get a four-year scholarship. What an incentive for community development — an educated workforce, new business development, increased property values and a better quality of life.

This month, Kalamazoo is making news again! Kalamazoo Central High School has been named as the winner of the first annual “Race To The Top Commencement Challenge” contest sponsored by the White House. The school’s prize: President Barack Obama is graduation speaker for the K-Central Class of 2010. The White House was looking for schools that were improving student outcomes, particularly among poor and minority students, and creating a college-going culture. Over 1,000 applications were received. The six finalists chosen were Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park, Kan., Clark Montessori in Cincinnati, Ohio, Denver School of Science and Technology in Denver, Colo., Environmental Charter High School in Lawndale, Calif., Kalamazoo Central High School in Kalamazoo, Mich. and MAST Academy in Miami, Fla. All six finalists represent the best that education has to offer.

Kalamazoo Central High School has been making serious strides in recent years to prepare kids for college — an effort tied to The Kalamazoo Promise. There is no question that their investment in education is paying off. All I can say is kudos to Kalamazoo!

Featured

  • New Arizona Fine Arts School Reaches Construction Milestone

    Construction of the new Hilltop School for the Arts and Theater in Litchfield Park, Ariz., recently hit a significant milestone, according to a news release. The Agua Fria High School District held a beam-signing ceremony to celebrate the building’s topping out, or the placement of its last structural beam.

  • University of Oklahoma Announces New Campus Master Plan

    The University of Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., recently announced that it will soon launch a new, comprehensive Campus Master Plan to guide the campus’ physical development during the next decade, according to a news release.

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • NWEA Report Recommends K–12 Natural Disaster Recovery Strategies

    The Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), a K–12 assessment and research organization, recently announced the release of a new playbook for schools and communities recovering from extreme weather events, according to a news release.