Politics April 6, 2017
Graduating high school students shouldn’t put away those books just yet. A daring new Chicago proposal would require all high school students to have a post-graduation plan in order to receive their diplomas.
It would be the first city to institute such a measure, should the city’s board of education pass Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal. It’s all part of the mayor’s plan to revolutionize the education system.
Emanuel thinks the K through 12 system is outdated in this economy, telling CBS This Morning, “You earn what you learn.” He plans to make “14th grade universal,” shifting gears into more of a pre-K to college model.
This comes after a measure allowing any students who receive a B average in high school to attend community college for free. Now, the new proposal would require ALL students to be accepted into college, community college, the armed forces or a trade school in order to even receive their diploma.
Emanuel says he wants the new expectation for all children to be completing at least two years of community college after high school. Chicago elementary schools now even have college flags and posters along the walls, in hopes of teaching young students that that should be their end goal.
Now, these plans may seem crazy – but it looks like they’re working. As it stands, Chicago schools are on track for an 87 percent graduation rate, up from 57 percent when he became mayor. And he wants to make sure all Chicago students will survive in this economy once they leave high school.
There are, of course, exceptions. Undocumented immigrants, those learning the English language and any incarcerated students would be able to apply for a waiver to graduate without firm college plans.
“We want to make sure our kids do not see graduation from high school as the end point,” Emanuel says of the lofty, new proposal. And we can’t help but agree.
