Around mid-May each school year, the seniors in my classes at Lindblom Math & Science Academy in Chicago start to celebrate the end of high school. Advanced Placement exams are complete, prom and graduation are right around the corner, and the students start to talk about how they are “finished” and “done” with school. While they should rightfully revel in the accomplishment of completing high school, they are by no means finished with school or their education. Although it used to be true that a high school diploma meant a career and a place in the middle class, this is no longer the case. According to the Pew Research Center, “college graduates ages 25 to 34 working full time in 2015 earned more annually – about $20,000 more – than employed young adults holding only a high school diploma.” This gap has widened over the last twenty years and shows no signs of narrowing.
So, I often wonder about the future outcomes of my students after they bid goodbye to their high school years. Yes, a few of my students do keep in touch after they head off to college, but the last time I see the majority of them is as they cross the stage at graduation. Therefore, when I sat down to watch “All The Difference,” I was excited to follow the two young men at the center of the documentary after high school ended. Urban Prep Englewood, where Robert and Krishaun went to high school, and my school both are located in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Though the two schools enroll different student populations (Urban Prep is an all-boys charter school and Lindblom is a selective enrollment public school) there are still striking similarities between our students. The students both schools tend to serve are those from Chicago’s poorer South and West sides, are members of minority groups, and are often the first in their families to attend college. Robert and Krishaun reminded me a lot of past students and the POV program gave me a revealing look into the post-high school lives of the students we teach at Lindblom...