Allentown School District hits ‘exciting milestone’
Students first in state invited to take Yale and Howard classes
Two weeks ago, when Allentown School District Superintendent Thomas Parker heard about a national initiative enabling at-risk high school students to take online classes at Yale, Harvard, Howard and other universities, he sprang into action.
Parker put Lucretia Brown, deputy superintendent for equity, accountability and school improvement, and a team she convened in touch with the program’s organizer, National Education Equity Lab. OnThursday, Parker announced that Allentown is the first district in Pennsylvania to participate in the equity lab’s initiative.
In February, up to 20 students in grades 10 to 12 at each of the three high schools — Allen, Dieruff and Building 21 — can take two courses for credit: a psychology class through Yale and the University of Connecticut, and an environmental studies course through Howard.
Allentown teachers will
co-teach in the classroom.
Parker said the district’s quick effort to join the partnership is evidence of its commitment to its goal of preparing students for college and breaking down barriers that stand in the way.
“We aim to provide our students with the chance to take part in opportunities that set them up for success for life after graduation,” he said. “Now our students can take select classes from some of the nation’s most prestigious universities. This is truly an exciting milestone for our school district community.”
In addition, the district on Thursday announced a partnership with Lehigh University to help students gain admission into the Bethlehem college’s summer LEAD(leadership, education and development) Summer Business Institute.
The National Education Equity Lab, a nonprofit that advances education justice, organized a consortium of colleges in September to provide credit-bearing courses to high-striving students of color and economic disadvantage.
Other colleges involved include Cornell University, Arizona State University. During Thursday’s school board meeting, which was conducted via Zoom, Leslie Cornfeld, CEO of the National Education Equity Lab, congratulated the district for joining the effort.
“You will be a model for the other districts throughout the state and the nation,” she said.
Cornfeld said the equity lab, which is working with the philanthropic Carnegie Corp. of New York and Common App, is committed to helping at-risk students succeed. At its September launch, the group had nearly 1,000 high school students from 60 schools participating in a pilot program. The goal is to enroll 10,000 students by year three.
Allentown is in the process of identifying and enrolling students in the program, which will be free to them.
In the Lehigh program, Allentown students will spend three weeks on campus learning all aspects of business, including finance, marketing and management. Costs, said Parker, will be covered by scholarships from the national LEAD, with Lehigh picking up any additional costs.
Parker himself attended a LEAD program in high school at the University of Texas and found it transformative.
“It changed my entire trajectory on what I thought was possible in life,” he said. “I am a full supporter to this day.”
Brown said the new programs will give students a path to success. “Often times, they aren’t at the right table or in the right place or have access that they need to overcome the barriers,” she said.
Efforts to help Allentown students also have involved bolstering their enrollment at Lehigh Carbon Community College. In the last two years, about 267 Allentown high school students took courses at LCCC through The Century Fund, the district said in a news release. Eighty-eight are fully enrolled at LCCC, taking courses that fulfill their high school graduation requirements while earning an associate degree. Another 139 students are taking advantage of dual enrollment on a course-bycourse basis to earn college credit this year. This fall, the partnership expanded to middle school, giving 40 eighth grade students the opportunity to take a history course through LCCC.