When comparing public and private colleges, most people assume that the private college is much more expensive; Edgewood wants to change that assumption. A newly awarded tuition grant will allow Edgewood College to challenge UW System schools with a dramatically reduced tuition of $11,400 per year, starting in the 2019-2020 school year.
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The Mellowhood Foundation’s Summer Initiative is a paid summer program in the southwest Madison Meadowood neighborhood that teaches a large age-range of children about independence and real-world responsibilities. The initiative draws on the knowledge students already have from school, while also teaching them skills such as independence and self-determination. Mellowhood student Amaria has learned valuable lessons through the program, such as “working hard, getting good grades, and failing from time to time.”
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According to Danielle Douglas of The Washington Post, parents are relying more and more on their annual income to pay for their children's college educations.
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In the world of technology, black Americans are at a disadvantage. According to Information is Beautiful, an online infographic text, there are significantly fewer black Americans than white Americans working in the top U.S. companies. This statistic is evident in the texts list of the racial diversity in said companies, including Instagram, YouTube, and Google.
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Did you know that in 2007, the nationally recognized AVID program or the Advancement Via Individual Determination program, started at East High School in Madison, Wisconsin.
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A recent Simpson Street Free Press editorial regarding student achievement and teachers’ expectations prompted a rebuttal from La Follette’s school newspaper, The Lance. In examining the arguments presented by both sides, I thought they merited further discussion.
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A few years ago I attended a school that lacked diversity. I tended to stick with a group of other Hispanic students. We didn’t feel like our school had a place for us. Members of our group didn’t get the experience of being in sports or clubs, and many of my Hispanic friends were not very engaged with their academics.
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The achievement gap is very prevalent in my school on a day-to-day basis. From the lack of minority students taking honors classes, to the over abundance of minority students occupying the hallways during valuable class time, the continuously nagging minority achievement gap prevails.
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At one time, it was said, girls go to college to earn their “Mrs. Degree.” Today it is more common to hear the phrase, “Girls go to college to get more knowledge; boys go to Jupiter…”
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As a recent graduate, I spent much time this past summer reminiscing about my four years of high school. Thousands of Madison-area high school seniors, like myself, eagerly walked across the stage in order to receive high school diplomas. We were filled with joy to be finished with an important chapter in our education.
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For many high school seniors, much of the year is filled with standardized tests, college applications, college visits and interviews. A lot of their time is spent waiting, in agony, to hear back from various universities. Conversations surrounding college admissions begin to multiply, with significant discussion about race, and the ease with which black students are admitted to universities. As an African-American, I have heard several times from my white and Asian peers that it would be easier for me to get into selective universities because of my race.
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The results of a national reading exam administered in 2009 showed Wisconsin’s African-American fourth-grade students posted scores that trailed their racial peers in every other state. Now, there is new national data from 2011; and this new data shows only slight improvement for those Wisconsin students.
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Everyone is their own person. Everyone has unique and special qualities about them, yet we try so hard to follow the crowd.
We are all guilty of committing this crime, but we all have had moments when we’ve tried to go against the grain.
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The editors of the Simpson Street Free Press strongly support the Urban League of Greater Madison’s proposal for a new charter school in south Madison.
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To succeed in school takes more than just wanting to do well. You must have a plan, and then you must execute that plan.
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As I near the end of my sophomore year in high school, the idea of college is quickly becoming a reality. I beginning to learn more about the requirements I need to get into college. One of the key deciders of college admission is your standardized test scores.
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In 2006, 49 percent of Wisconsin’s African-American seniors graduated from high school. That figure is 32 percentage points below the state average for all students. Numbers like those are saddening and make me realize that the achievement gap is still very wide, and a lot of work needs to be done.
However much work there is to do on a national or state level, but to many of us, this is a personal thing. Each of us must possess a desire to not be a statistic. We should set the precedent.
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For the past three years the popular Bridging the Achievement Gap Column has covered various topics regarding the academic excellence of minority students. This column has become a tradition at the Simpson Street Free Press, and has now been passed down to me.
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I began writing the Gap According to Green during my junior year at LaFollette High School. Throughout my time writing this column, I have discussed a variety of issues concerning the minority achievement gap. I’ve given practical tips on how to succeed in school, shared ways to help bridge the gap, and written about personal experiences.
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