The National Education Equity Lab (“the Lab”) is an innovative program that provides college credit and support for students in qualifying high schools. If 40 percent or more of the students in your high school qualify for the federal free and reduced lunch program, your school is eligible to participate in the Education Equity Lab.
The Lab assists schools with learning about the program as well as program implementation. There is no cost to students who participate, however, the school must provide a $250 fee for each student for each course taken as well as high-quality internet and computer hardware to support the online components of the program. Covering the fee and technology costs for a group of students could be of interest to corporate benefactors and others who understand the Lab model, purpose and outcomes. Title funding directors and principals could also explore how the fee- and technology-related costs could be covered through federal and state funding. The National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA) can provide information about federal funding options. Contact Sister Dale McDonald, PBVM, Ph.D., NCEA Vice President of Public Policy, for more information (mcdonald@ncea.org).
In the next three sections of this article, I will provide more detailed information about the Lab model, its purpose and its outcomes. This information will likely prove to be helpful when seeking federal and state funding and when talking with benefactors about this program.
The Education Equity Lab provides students in qualifying high schools with the opportunity to earn widely transferable college credits while also completing high school requirements. Professors at participating colleges and universities provide online lectures and college teaching assistants provide discussion sections and grade assignments. Teaching assistants also help students hone their writing skills and encourage high school students to see themselves as potential students at some of the United States’ best colleges and universities.
A high school teacher provides supervision and organization for the class within the school building. The Lab course would serve as one of the high school teacher’s assigned courses since students also earn high school credit for successfully completing courses in the program.
The Education Equity Lab was founded in 2019 by Leslie Cornfeld, a former federal civil rights prosecutor. She envisioned the Lab as a means for low-income high school students to achieve social and economic mobility and success through completing dual credit courses while in high school.
Leslie Cornfeld’s vision is becoming a reality. The Lab outcomes to date are very promising.
Since 2019, more than 10,000 high school students have participated in the Education Equity Lab. Of these students, close to 90 percent have successfully completed their courses, earning both high school and college credit at some of the best colleges and universities in the United States, including Georgetown, Stanford, Howard, Wesleyan and Princeton. Student success in their dual credit high school courses bolsters their selfconfidence and helps them envision new opportunities. By demonstrating their ability to successfully complete college courses while in high school, students participating in this program show colleges they can be successful when they arrive on campus. High schools across the country are participating in the program and expanding their participation.
Some high schools are now offering enough courses through the Lab that students can earn up to one semester of college credit through the program while also completing high school requirements. Earning this amount of college credit while in high school reduces college costs for students and their families and provides a good indicator to college admissions committees that these students are college-ready.
The success of students in the Lab can be taken to another level by reconsidering the purpose of the Lab in light of the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. As envisioned by the founder, the Lab promises college credit and widening opportunities to lowincome high school students and Catholic educators can encourage students completing the program to help others as well as themselves. Jesus encourages each one of us who follow him to think of our neighbor, those who need our help. Graduates of the Lab can help their neighbors by becoming teaching assistants, mentors and alumni supporters of new students in the Lab.
For more information, go to the Lab’s website at edequitylab.org and read the article in Forbes (June 2, 2022) by doing a Google search for “Forbes education equity lab.”
Note: This article addresses NSBECS Standard 7 by focusing on a new opportunity to increase the rigor of high school courses while also providing students with an opportunity to develop skills for success after graduation. This article also addresses NSBECS Standard 13 by describing an innovative program that would likely attract more students to attend participating Catholic high schools.
Father Tom Simonds, SJ, Ed.D., is the NCEA Director of Secondary Engagement.
Father Tom Simonds, SJ, Ed.D.