An interview with Renee Tucker, program director for the College Readiness Program at Associated Colleges of Illinois
by LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke, MEd,
NCC, NCCC
Lack of high school standardization, grade inflation and the new "teaching from the test" teacher mentality brought on by education reform incentive programs is causing a "dumbing down" of higher education. I’ve been hearing that term -- dumbing down -- and the above opinion stated often lately by college professors who teach entry-level general education courses. This is particularly true among those who teach science, math and writing classes.
Are high school graduation requirements and college board scores enough to ensure college readiness among high school graduates? I recently discussed this question with Renee Tucker, program director for the College Readiness Program at Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI). The program is offered through this 50-year-old consortium of small private colleges in the Chicago area to help prepare inner-city high school students for success in college.
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: ACI’s College Readiness Program has certainly found a formula for success, with 100 percent of the students who participate throughout their high school years graduating from high school and going on to college -- 80 percent to four-year institutions. Would you share some information with our readers about the program and the students it serves?
Renee Tucker: Small colleges, where all students are known by name to faculty and staff, are better suited to meet the needs of under-prepared students. In 1996 the ACI began the College Readiness Program to give kids who might not even consider college a vision of college life and the skills needed to succeed. It is a year-round program for ninth to twelfth graders who attend one college-based program a month and a one-week residential program during the summers. It started small, with 30 kids from Chicago’s inner city. Now we serve students from 77 high schools throughout Chicago, East St. Louis and Decatur.
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: I understand that a unique aspect of this program is that you serve neither the highly at-risk nor the gifted inner-city student populations. Who are your participants and where do you find them?
Renee Tucker: That’s right, LeeAnn. Our program is geared towards the broad middle spectrum of kids who could do college work but lack the resources to consider higher education and don’t know where to find them, who [don’t know who] to talk to or even what questions to ask; the kids who most often just fall through the cracks. They are referred to us by partner organizations like Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Boys and Girls Clubs. We hope to work with them for their full four years of high school.
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: What do your monthly and residential programs offer these kids?
Renee Tucker: They are like mini-conferences, with workshops presented by college professors and students on college campuses. This provides an exceptional opportunity for kids who would be the first generation in their families to go to college and are totally unfamiliar and intimidated by the institutions, professors and all the red tape that goes with it. It allows them to develop a comfort level with the places, people and process. They become invested and buy into the college experience. This is a tremendous advantage over high school-based college preparedness programs or those offered to college freshmen once they enroll.
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: Does the content of these workshops focus on academic skill development for getting through college-prep courses and college boards?
Renee Tucker: That’s important, and there is emphasis on writing, math and technology skills, but we recognize that high school graduation requirements and college board scores are not enough to ensure college readiness. We also coach them on high school course selection, career development, study and test-taking skills, and choosing a college that will best suit their needs and personalities. But a crucial part of our curriculum involves the development of what we call "habits of the mind."
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: That’s an intriguing concept! What are these crucial "habits of the mind" necessary for ensuring college success?
Renee Tucker: We’re talking about qualities like initiative, critical thinking, persistence and developing an inquisitive nature: the skills necessary to overcome and deal with frustrating situations and succeed in college and the world of work. We encourage kids to take four full years of math, science, social studies and foreign language in high school, to do more than just get by, taking the minimum requirements to get into college.
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: Those certainly are crucial skills for success in any arena, and usually are overlooked in the typical current, content-driven high school curriculums. After eight successful years helping kids get in and succeed in college, in what directions do you see ACI’s College Readiness Program heading in the future?
Renee Tucker: We of course hope to keep growing to bring the program to more kids, but now we are in the process of expanding our alumni program by offering continuing support services to ensure college completion. We’re developing a listserv so alumni can better keep in touch with us and each other, a fall and spring newsletter, two-year reunion programs and summer internships. Now that the number of college grads among our alumni is growing, we are attempting to keep them engaged with our current participants as mentors, chaperones, speakers and panel presenters in our campus programs.
LeeAnn Bernier-Clarke: It seems that there is much to learn about college preparedness from ACI’s very innovative College Readiness Program. Thanks so much, Renee, and best wishes for your continued success!
To learn more about ACI’s College Readiness Program, go to: http://www.acifund.org/
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