Community Conversation: College Readiness

Public Engagement is a specialty of Public Agenda, in our mission to ensure that public policy is made with the participation of the public, rather than with the public as spectators affected but not involved in decisions made by policymakers who might be unaware of public opinion. With that in mind, we are reprinting this report from Lehigh Carbon Community College, in Allentown, Pa., where we helped put the principles of public engagement to work by providing technical assistance for a Community Conversation on how to improve success rates for its students. We've also added some links to this story, for the benefit of individuals who may want to try public engagement techniques to solve similar problems in their own communities.

Public Engagement In Action:
A Report By Lehigh Carbon Community College

On April 30, 2009, more than a hundred community members gathered at the Lehigh County Government Center in Allentown, Pa., to discuss how we can help our children aspire to and be ready to succeed in higher education. This Community Conversation was hosted by Lehigh Carbon Community College with assistance from Public Agenda and support from an array of local organizations and businesses.

A Community Conversation is a carefully constructed problem-solving dialogue that brings diverse stakeholders and community members together to discuss an important public issue. The conversation is a first step in a larger process of community engagement, collaboration, and action. Community Conversations have been put to good use in hundreds of communities nationwide.

People from many different backgrounds, interests, and ages came together over dinner for this Community Conversation and shared their views in a number of moderated discussion groups—including one discussion conducted in Spanish and another assisted by an Arabic translator. In order to maintain our momentum, the members of the Community Conversation Follow-Up Committee met to review the common themes and to prioritize goals identified by the discussion groups. Those items are summarized in this report.

We encourage you to offer your comments and join our efforts to realize the goals identified in this report. Please go to http://allentown.wiki.zoho.com and see how you can be involved in this community effort.

Common Ground

Discussion participants found agreement on many issues:

• continuing education - vocational or academic - is valuable for everyone;



• parents need to be involved in and supportive of their children's education;



• students need to be exposed to the full range of career options available to them;



• students need mentors to guide them in selecting and pursuing their goals; and



• students need the emotional, academic, and practical skills to make the transition to college.

Concerns

Participants shared experiences and identified common needs that they believed to be critically linked to college readiness. Many students or families need to:

• understand the economic and social value of higher education;



• know what careers could be open to them through education; and



• begin thinking about and preparing for college at a much earlier age.

Students or families also need:

• information on how they can afford college;



• guidance through the process of applying for college;



• motivation to identify and pursue career and life goals;



• stronger academic skills to succeed in college;



• enhanced life skills to succeed in higher education or employment;



• guidance about how to cope with the worries or responsibilities that interfere with their educations; and/or



• guidance about how to deal with obstacles caused by their immigration status, criminal record, or limited proficiency in English.

Priorities for Action

From the many suggestions made by participants, the Follow-Up Committee identified three major themes that lend themselves to immediate action; the Committee also acknowledged the need for an ongoing steering committee that can take these and future initiatives forward:

• Parent Outreach Parents need information, guidance, and practical assistance to nurture and direct their children's education.

Suggested Strategy: Create a well-publicized, one-day, annual event that provides comprehensive information on the opportunities, expectations, and procedures for applying for college admission and financial aid. This event could also make parents aware of resources to help them learn English, develop their own skills, and find family support services.

• Career Mentoring Many students need a more realistic understanding of the career opportunities that are available to them or the skills and credentials they would need to pursue those options. They need to see the relevance of working hard in school and setting and meeting personal goals. A number of agencies currently offer mentoring programs that provide students with practical and emotional guidance in school or in the transition to the labor market or higher education.

Suggested Strategy: Create a one-day conference for the various agencies that offer mentoring to come together to discuss the programs they offer, identify ways to coordinate their programs, and determine how to expand community participation in and awareness about their programs.

• Public Service Announcements Many of the young people who participated in the community conversation noted that they and their peers encounter few messages in their daily lives that promote education as a path to success.

Suggested Strategy: Bring together the resources of the local business leaders, media outlets, and college media programs to develop a TV, radio, and print campaign aimed at elementary, middle school, and high school students.

• Steering Committee Our greatest chance for our long-term vision is if we create a group that is willing to take leadership on these issues.

Suggested Strategy: Create a task force to recruit leaders from the business, education, faith, and social services sectors of the community to serve on an Educational Leadership Collaborative of the Lehigh Valley. Such a group could be the steering committee for these and future efforts.




Take Action Now

For each of our initiatives, we need a committed group of community members to plan, orchestrate, and sustain action. Each initiative can succeed through the work of a small group of volunteers. With the help of Public Agenda, we have set up a website where people can contribute ideas and/or volunteer to work on one of the four initiatives identified above. Please go to http://allentown.wiki.zoho.com to offer your comments and pledge your participation in these important initiatives. We need your help - and we need the help of your neighbors and co-workers.

There is so much we can accomplish if we join together for action.





 

Acknowledgments: The Community Conversation on College Readiness was the result of efforts by volunteers from Lehigh Carbon Community College, Allentown School District, City of Allentown, County of Lehigh, Workforce Investment Board, Pinebrook Services for Children & Youth, Community Action Committee of the Lehigh Valley, and a number of private citizens. Volunteers received guidance from Public Agenda. The event received support from: Allentown Brew Works, Chik-Fil-A, Cityline Coffee, Domino's, Dunkin Donuts, Giant, Mancino's Pizza and Pasta Fasul, McDonald's, Papa John's, Pasta Allarosa, Quiznos, Spooners, Subway, Wal-Mart, Wegman's, and Yocco's Hot Dog King.

 

Article and photo reprinted with permission from Lehigh Carbon Community College. For more information on strategies for community problem-solving, see the public engagement section of this web site.