Want to make it in the pros? Better get an education

By Jalen Rose
Former 13-year NBA veteran and current ESPN/ABC analyst

As the battle continues for the Lawrence O’Brien trophy between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs, hundreds of thousands of children and teens are having visions of becoming a professional athlete like their favorite superstars. Sadly, for many of them locked in underperforming schools, that’s the only reason they consider reaching higher education.

I do not want to dash the hopes of any child’s dream of becoming an athlete, but the easiest way to obtain a better education and a successful future shouldn’t be attached only to athletic endeavors. We need to set our children on the path to be successful “professionals” – engineers, teachers, doctors and nurses, business owners, and on and on, not just professional athletes.

Our education system needs reform.  The graduation rate for African-American youth is 47 percent - that’s 31 percentage points lower than the national average. An athletic scholarship shouldn’t be the best opportunity to receive a quality education. That’s why I’ve teamed up with the American Federation for Children and become an advocate for educational choice. Parents should have more options and students should be able to attend a quality school that meets their needs.

My passion for quality educational options also led me to start the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy. Founded in 2011, we partner with the University of Detroit Mercy to provide college courses to upper level students.

The school’s motto, “Enter a learner: Exit a leader” exemplifies the school’s goals: Provide students with the best education to help them become well-versed and educated to handle themselves in real life situations. We also made the commitment to guarantee that at least 85 percent of our students graduate high school, 85 percent go onto college and 85 percent earn a college diploma.

In less than the span of two weeks, Louisiana and Iowa, respectively, expanded their educational options for children. That’s a huge productive step that will have a positive impact on the lives of countless children. Meanwhile, the opportunity to go to college on an athletic scholarship remains difficult, and making it for a long-lasting career in the NBA even more improbable. It’s illogical that children are denied educational choice and too often left banking on their athletic prowess as their only way to reach higher education. As kids continue to dream about playing hoops, I encourage parents to join me and demand that better quality educational options be available for children everywhere.

To learn more about educational choice contact my friends at the American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice.

Rose: Access to Educational Options Could Be the Ticket to Solving Dropout Problem

Growing up in Northwest Detroit, I watched many of my peers struggle through school – some even dropped out.  What kept me motivated was the fact that I knew getting my high school diploma and making it to college were mandatory steps in achieving my dreams.  I also was lucky to have a supportive mother who kept me grounded and motivated. 

Every day, nearly 7,000 high school students across the country give up on their shot at a better life. In Detroit, four out of ten students do not graduate. A staggering number of these students in Detroit and across the country who decide to drop out of school are African-American and Latino, and come from low-income families with limited access to educational options.

 

Like my high school peers, students drop out for myriad reasons.  There is one thing that is certain, we need to do more as a country to ensure these students have every opportunity to avoid becoming another “inner city statistic.”  

 

Providing children with the opportunity for a better tomorrow starts with a good education.  The one-size-fits-all approach to educating students is obviously not working.  We need to provide families with greater access to educational options, ensuring each and every child has the opportunity to receive an education that addresses his/her individual needs.

In 2011 I founded the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy in an effort to give children in my hometown with access to a quality education in a positive environment.  Currently the Academy is serving over 200 ninth and tenth grade students selected at random with a robust educational experience.   Students at the Academy receive a leadership-focused education with the goal of inspiring students to ultimately graduate with a college degree. 

 

The Academy is just one example of an educational option that is working to address the needs of economically-disadvantaged students.   We must take the steps necessary to provide students with access to the education that works best for their needs if we ever hope to solve the issues that plague our inner-city neighborhoods. 

 

Statistics show high school dropouts are 72 percent more likely to be unemployed as compared to high school graduates.  What is also startling is the fact that nearly 80 percent of prisoners in the United States do not have a high school diploma.   With nearly 760 prisoners per every 100,000 citizens, as a nation we spend almost $70 billion each year to incarcerate adults, confine youth to detention centers, and monitor those on probation and parole.   

By ensuring every student has access to the best education possible, we can help prevent more students from becoming statistics.  We must call on our elected officials to work together to provide students with educational options, giving them a chance to receive a quality education that works for their needs. 

Through my work with the American Federation for Children, I hope to help raise awareness of the plight of low-income and minority students across the country stuck in schools that do not address their individual learning needs.   These students deserve every opportunity available to help them rise above their current economic situation and achieve their dreams.