150 fifth-graders; 150 uncertain futures

Local school's class visits ASU; how many will return, under Arizona's shaky education statistics, is murky

 by Daniel Newhauser
 published on Monday, February 18, 2008

Bettina Hansen / THE STATE PRESS

FUTURE DEVIL?: Fifth-grader Jordan Berns, 11, of Meridian Elementary School in Mesa tosses a football on his way back to his school bus on a field trip to ASU’s Tempe campus Friday.

ASU played host to around 150 Meridian Elementary School fifth-graders Friday in an effort to stimulate early interest in college.

But, according to national statistics, of the 150 students who visited ASU's campus Friday, only 28 might actually obtain an ASU degree.

Arizona's estimated high school graduation rate was 71 percent in 2006, according to figures from the Education Trust. If these statistics hold, about 44 of the 150 students will drop out of high school.

Nearly 48 percent of Arizona high school graduates actually go on to college. This number is below the national average, according to figures from the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems.

These statistics suggest that only 50 of the 106 estimated high school graduates would attend college.

And, if all 50 students chose to study at ASU, under the National Center for Educational Statistics' estimated 56 percent ASU overall graduation rate, only 28 would actually leave with a degree.

ASU English education professor James Blasingame is involved in programs that would help align Arizona grade-school curriculum with that of the University.

"I try to make the connection between middle school and high school and university," he said.

He said that getting the students into classes that interest them as early as possible would help keep them in school.

And getting college freshmen ingrained in university programs early, he said, would help ASU retain and graduate them with better success.

"These kids in Arizona are great kids," he said. "We need to help them, and we can."

Meridian Elementary School principal Vicki Hester said contrary to the state average, Gilbert School District, which Meridian is a part of, graduates a large percentage of students.

Hester said she hopes introducing university life to her students — many of whom have never been on a college campus — will increase the likelihood that they will attend college after graduating high school.

"Fifth and sixth grade is when kids start to think seriously about their paths," Hester said. "We want to expose college to them early because, the earlier we get that excitement going, the greater the chance is that they'll go."

Blasingame said the exposure could facilitate thoughts of a future in higher education.

"It takes a powerful imagination to see yourself somewhere you've never been," he said.

The Meridian students arrived from the Mesa school at around 10 a.m. to participate in a nearly three-hour scavenger hunt at the Tempe campus.

"It looks cool," said 10-year-old Meridian student Nikki Britz of the ASU grounds.

And though she said she did not know whether she would want to attend college or what she would want to study, she said she recognized that she has plenty of time to think about it.

Her grandfather, Ken Britz, of Mesa, was escorting Nikki and her group from building to building.

A map of ASU's Tempe campus aided their day's trek, but for grade-school students, he said, there is no blueprint by which to navigate the public school system.

"When they get to high school, it's a drastic change, and college is even more of a drastic change," said Britz. "[This trip] will help kids see if they really want to go."

Britz, who said he has put five of his own children through college, added that it is really up to the parents and kids to undertake a college education.

The best way to achieve this, he said, is through constant support — and a little prodding.

"If you can talk to your kids without a screaming match, you can get through to them more easily," he said.

Blasingame said he agrees with Britz's approach.

"One of the keys to K—12 education is that you have to get the community involved, meaning parents and family members," he said. "[For the kids,] a lot of this has to do with believing that you can."

Reach the reporter at: daniel.newhauser@asu.edu.