Philadelphia Futures

Student preparation and college readiness is a controversial issue in today's society. My interest in student preparation and college readiness struck my decision to job shadow and interview employees of Philadelphia Futures. Philadelphia Futures is a nonprofit organization offering a range of services to help students excel in high school, and navigate the college admissions process, so they are prepared to enter and succeed in college. Philadelphia Futures has been helping young adults attend college and earn a degree since 1989. Having the opportunity to spend a full working day with the staff of Philadelphia Futures was an insightful experience. Job shadowing the staff, attending the meetings, interacting with high school students, and
Many researchers believe that academic preparation is critical to college enrollment. Researchers (Alexander, Cook, & McDill, 1978: Hossler, Braxton, & Coopersmith, 1989; Manski & Wise, 1983; St. John, 1991; Hossler et al., 1999; Perna, 2000a; Cabrera, La Nasa & Burkam, 2001) believe that “academic preparation and achievement are important predictors of both propositions towards, or interest in, attending college and actual college enrollment” (p.115). The staff of College Connection is aware of the critical factors of academic success, and they are effectively addressing this issue by providing academic enrichment services. Students participate in weekly after-school classes, summer academic programs on college campuses and sat preparation classes. I believe it is important to expose students physically to campus. Students are more acquainted with the resources by attending classes on campus during their summer
Equally vital to the research of college preparation, I was able to interact with high school students during their after school program trying to make sense of the literature that I was exposed to over the course of the semester. Literature fails to include ethnographies and stories of students experiences. The staff of Philadelphia Future is fixing everything that should have been addressed in high school. Many of the speakers who visited our class throughout the semester expressed similar frustrations. These issues (grades, income, ethnicity/race) that affect students are systemic issues. Treating students as scholars uplift their spirits. Nonetheless, many of the students were excited to transition to college. They shared goals and the importance of managing their health and wellness. Philadelphia Futures provides students the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities offering students a richer educational