It’s encouraging to see signs that this country’s community colleges are finally becoming the priority they must be if they are to successfully fulfill their critically important post-high school, pre-university mission. The White House even held its first community-college summit last week. And Hillsborough Community College just scored two impressive grants, one from the U.S. Department of Education and one from a private source, aimed at improving graduation rates.
Moreover, in an unprecedented gesture of cooperation, coordination and sheer good fellowship, the presidents of HCC, St. Petersburg College, Pasco-Hernando Community College and the University of South Florida recently met for dinner at the Tampa Club to talk about working together. But at least one more dinner reservation should have been made. At the very least, Hillsborough County Public Schools Superintendent MaryEllen Elia should have been invited. She presides over the third largest system in the state.
The point is this. More than 75 percent of HCC’s incoming students are placed into remedial math classes. It not only impacts graduation rates, but it obviously begs the question of how so many students graduate from high school–with an actual diploma–with that kind of unacceptable deficit? The public schools, the incubator for the math-challenged, need a seat at that table. Reservation for five next time.