The College of Education and Human Development welcomes their first cohort of Temple Education Scholars. 15 high-achieving rising seniors from high schools all over the School District of Philadelphia will spend their senior year completing five courses within the College of Education and Human Development to set them up for one of four education degrees (human development and community engagement, early childhood education, middle grades education, and secondary education). As part of the Senior Year Only Program (SYOP) initiative by the School District of Philadelphia, students will have the opportunity to begin their path toward college and career readiness by experiencing a connection between  "classroom learning with real-world applications in the workplace." Students in the Temple Education Scholars (TES) program will begin their time at Temple in August and take classes through the following June, allowing them to acquire 15 credits (a complete college semester) before graduating high school at no cost to them. Financial support for the program is provided by both the School District of Philadelphia as well as the Dean of the College of Education and Human Development, Dr. Gregory Anderson.  

Dual-enrollment is certainly not a new concept and the partnership between colleges and school districts has demonstrated many positive impacts on student academic outcomes both at the secondary and higher education levels. The College of Education and Human Development, however, is taking this one step further to integrate a comprehensive set of supports for the students participating in this program as identified through the College's work with Upward Bound and its collaborations with Steppingstone Scholars, Inc. These supports include a cohort model for students to take classes together, workshops to address common challenges faced by new college students (time management, study skills, communicating with staff), and continuous tutoring and mentoring to help students at both the group and individual levels to achieve success in their courses. 

So what does this look like? Students participating in this program will take classes on Temple's Main Campus Monday through Thursday for the entire academic year. They will spend their mornings at their respective high schools, taking their required high school courses, and will then be provided with transportation to Temple's campus to take their university courses in the afternoon. Afternoons will also be dedicated to college preparation workshops, individualized and group tutoring, and study hall. The program will maintain a rigorous structure while balancing a response to student needs.

Students were selected as part of the SYOP application process. In addition to several admission essays, students' were selected based on their Accuplacer Exam scores, and a minimum 3.25 GPA through their junior year. The students selected for this program have been described as "go-getters" who are looking to take advantage of opportunities to challenge themselves within a rigorous college setting. Students in this program will be taking classes right alongside current Temple students with faculty members who are dedicated to their success, including Drs. Jennifer Johnson and Marc Lamont Hill.    

This program provides an opportunity for students who are dedicated to education to begin their studies with a rich support system and a team invested in their success. Students aren't the only ones benefiting from this program, though. The coordination between the School District of Philadelphia, the College of Education and Human Development, and the participating high schools' administrators provides a unique and critical avenue for communication between the different institutions in order to better facilitate an alignment of goals and expectations. Further, a comprehensive program dedicated to education provides an opportunity to begin recruiting and educating promising young Philadelphians who may go on to become agents of change and support within their own communities. The College of Education and Human Development hopes to expand this program to a larger scale in the future to reach more high-achieving seniors.

Learn more about Temple Education Scholars.