Chicago Reporter (https://www.chicagoreporter.com/tag/college-going/page/2/)
With support from the non-profit OneGoal and a lot of hard work and long days during high school, Breyana Floyd made it from her rough Austin neighborhood to quiet Monmouth College, a tiny liberal arts school in western Illinois. Reading her story, you hope and pray she makes it to senior year and graduation. If she does, Breyana will become an all-too-rare success story.
Back in 2006, Chicago researchers released a startling report on the post-secondary success of CPS students. The study ultimately concluded that just eight of every 100 high school freshmen would end up getting a college degree.
The numbers were worse for black and Hispanic boys. Only 4 percent obtained a degree.
In 2006, the Consortium for Chicago School Research issued a report that sent shock waves through the Chicago Public Schools system. The discovery that somewhere between only 6.5 and 8% of CPS students graduated from four-year colleges (and only 2% of African-American boys) was a call to action.
Career education is no longer just about preparing students to enter the workforce. In line with a national trend of ‘college for all’ and the reality that most good-paying jobs require education beyond high school, CPS has overhauled its career education programs to make college the ultimate goal.
Nearly 60 percent of 2011 CPS graduates enrolled in college, but some question this current administration’s plans for post-secondary education.