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Crackdown on drug dealers needed in Luzerne County, officials say

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Pair to plead guilty in Mohegan Sun Pocono Players’ Club card scheme

<p>Since becoming president at United Way of Wyoming Valley, Bill Jones has helped to shift the agency&#8217;s focus to programs that can reduce childhood poverty, with education nabbing a big chunk of his attention.</p><p>Jones and the agency&#8217;s staffers deserve praise for that long-term emphasis, which will be on full display Friday during the GradNation Community Summit at Mohegan Sun Pocono in Plains Township. (To register, visit <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/destination-graduation-wyoming-valley-gradnation-community-summit-tickets-26582875095" target="_blank">uwwvsummit.eventbrite.com</a>.)</p><p>&#8220;Graduation rates are a key indicator of the health and well-being of a community,&#8221; Jones said. &#8220;Over time, we can strengthen and improve the Wyoming Valley by increasing our graduation rates.&#8221;</p><p>There is no counter argument. Research repeatedly and conclusively has shown that earning a high school degree benefits both the alum through higher lifetime earnings and society through reduced occurrences of things such as crime, unemployment and addiction.</p><p>But while lauding this and any effort to improve graduation rates, no one should mistakenly believe this is purely a matter of numbers, as if victory can be declared merely by propelling the rate to 90 percent or even 95.</p><p>Any push by school district officials and others for higher graduation rates must not come by inadvertently watering down the value of the diploma.</p><p>On one hand, as Education Week recently noted, the nation&#8217;s new &#8220;record high&#8221; graduation rate of 83.2 percent comes at a time when standards have been made more rigorous, and the number of students taking Advanced Placement tests is up sharply.</p><p>On the other hand, it comes when results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests &#8211; the &#8220;nation&#8217;s report card&#8221; &#8211; have either flat-lined or even dropped slightly. And it comes when roughly one-third of first-year college students take remedial courses to learn skills they seemingly should have mastered in high school.</p><p>The bottom line is what it has been since states wisely started mandating compulsory education, even before it was extended beyond elementary grades to high school: We must prepare students for what&#8217;s ahead &#8211; in careers, in higher ed, and in being a better citizen.</p><p>Any effort to boost graduation rates is worthwhile. But it always must go hand in hand with a hard look at the true value of the diploma.</p><p>The skills needed to &#8220;be prepared&#8221; upon graduating high school are a shifting target in this rapidly evolving world. It&#8217;s not enough to make sure students get diplomas; they have to gain the knowledge and be able to apply it.</p><p>Attendees at this week&#8217;s summit will best serve the community by not seeing a lofty graduation rate as the sole objective, but rather a reflection of progress made in preparing students for career readiness and success in life.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: In quest to raise high school graduation rates, don’t shortchange students