Taking Action on K-12, University Cooperation

By Charles B. Reed

A wise old coach at one of our universities used to admonish lackluster team members by saying, "If you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you always got." In other words, try harder, put something else into the equation, or go that extra mile to get better results than you did before.

I find those words to be inspirational not only for athletic endeavors, but also for setting goals in any number of arenas. In fact, those words have become something of a mantra for me as I consider the state of K-12-university relations.

Our universities are inextricably connected to our country's K-12 schools. And yet the links between the two systems are nowhere near as strong as they should be. Instead of cooperation and resource-sharing, we often have poor or nonexistent communications, duplication of efforts, gaps in preparation, and missed opportunities for shared resources. If we continue on this road, I fear we'll keep "getting...