EMERGE works

Expand programs to help disadvantaged students gain admittance to top universities.

If there were a Guinness Book of Houston Records, we’d nominate Micheal Brown. The high school senior received 20 acceptances to colleges, including four Ivy League schools, with a full ride to each and more than $260,000 in scholarships. Brown hails from Houston’s Third Ward, more often known for shotgun homes and gentrifying townhouses than for academic achievement.

What makes 17-year-old Brown’s accomplishment more remarkable is that he was raised by a divorced mother who works two jobs as a chemical dependency counselor to pay the bills. Although traditionally higher education has functioned as an economic equalizer, nowadays it is increasingly evident that academia tilts strongly toward the wealthy.

Schools are learning that college guidance, application workshops, campus visits and test prep all must be part of an a traditional curriculum if we want to help kids from underserved communities gain admittance to the top-tier universities.

It should be no surprise that Brown benefited from several college prep programs, including EMERGE, which started in Houston Independent School District and has spread to Spring and Spring Branch ISDs.

EMERGE, which is currently recruiting its class of 2020, received more than 1,000 applications from sophomores, but it is able to accept only 275 students. Responsibility falls on the Texas Legislature to provide additional funding and expand this worthwhile program not only in Harris County but in all school districts across the state.

Every American has a stake in our country as a land of opportunity. Nowhere are the stakes higher than within higher education itself. But far too many Americans are starting to doubt