A Renaissance in
College Engagement
Democracy must begin at home, and its
home is the neighborly community.
—John Dewey, The Public and Its Problems
(Holt, 1927)
In many urban communities, John Dewey’s concept of the neighborly community is more an ideal than a reality. In our city, Philadelphia, the poverty rate hovers above
25 percent, and the unemployment
rate hit 11. 6 percent in October 2010
(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, n.d.).
The community’s struggles affect the
life prospects of its children well before
they enter school. In neighborhoods
in West Philadelphia not far from the
University of Pennsylvania, there are
infant mortality rates of approximately
20 per 1,000, compared with 0– 8 per
1,000 in adjacent, wealthier sections
of the city (Health of Philadelphia
Photo-Documentation Project, n.d.).
Only about 55 percent of the students
who enter 9th grade in Philadelphia
public schools graduate four years later
(Green, 2001).
Yet urban communities like Philadelphia harbor rich resources that they
can mobilize to make a profound difference in the lives of young people.
Urban universities and colleges, in particular, are well positioned to play a role
in responding to the challenges facing
our cities (Harkavy & Zuckerman,
1999). More than one-half of all institutions of higher education are located
within or just outside urban areas
(Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
& CEOs for Cities, 2002). As rooted,
place-based institutions, colleges and
universities provide stability to a city.
How can we effectively marshal the
enormous resources of these institutions to improve the quality of life
and learning in urban K– 12 schools
and their communities? One powerful
strategy is university-assisted community schools.
PHOTO BY TOMMY LEONARD
Partner 1: The University
The idea that universities should be
intimately connected to their com-
munities has deep historic roots. In a
pamphlet that led up to his founding
of the University of Pennsylvania in
1749, Benjamin Franklin articulated a
vision of an institution predicated not
on classical education for the elite, but
on a modern education for all able stu-
dents to develop an “Inclination join’d
with an Ability to serve Mankind, one’s
Country, Friends and Family.”
Franklin’s idea of higher education
for service was echoed in the land grant
movement in the 19th century, which
expanded the public university system
and directly tied its work to the bet-
terment of society. This idea also ani-
LARGE PHO TO BY SCO TT SPITZER/COUR TESY OF THE UNIVERSIT Y OF PENNSYLVANIA
INSET PHOTOS BY TOMMY LEONARD
