Sache Collier (LearnServe Paraguay ’11) reflects on the challenges that even top performing DC Public School students face when they head to college
“…Collier, the 2011 valedictorian at Ballou Senior High in Southeast Washington, said the first thing she noticed when she arrived at Penn State University was how intently her fellow students paid attention during class.
“It was like, ‘Wow, everyone’s on the same page and everyone wants to learn,’ Collier said. ‘At Ballou, it wasn’t like that at all. I was always trying to get the students quiet.’
“Collier had been a star at Ballou, where fewer than one-quarter of students are proficient in math and reading. But she said that her classes largely dealt with the basics: summarizing story plots, for example, and learning how to write complete and grammatically correct sentences…”
To read the full Washington Post article by Emma Brown click here.