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CNN Saturday Morning News

Education Makeover; Go to College for Free; The Taj Mahal of Schools

Aired September 04, 2010 - 09:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We are at the top of the hour here now. Good morning to you all. It has been called the Taj Mahal of schools. A $578 million public school, probably the most expensive in the country, but in these economic times, how and why was it built?

Plus, the cost of higher education continues to go up, but some students are getting $40,000 a year in tuition for free and all they have to do is live in a particular town.

Welcome back to the "CNN Saturday Morning." I'm T.J. Holmes. This time every Saturday, we spend this 9:00 a.m. Eastern half hour having a conversation about a high topic that's been in the news this week.

And today, this week, it's been CNN's mission to document the nation's education crisis as America's children head back to class. We've been talking problems and solutions all week long. That's what we're talking about this half hour.

A Georgia family is having trouble with their three middle school aged children. This is one of the topics we tackle this week. The children have trouble doing their homework. Stay up late on school nights. They can't seem to get up in time for school.

Well, CNN's education contributor Steve Perry paid them a visit. Steve is here live with us. We're going to talk with him in just a moment. But first, let's take a look at his education makeover.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA RACZKOWSKI, MOTHER: Here it is five minutes before Nathan is supposed to be leaving for his class, and Nathan is still in bed. Here we have David, who is still in bed. I have to go to work, and I don't know if he's going to get up and make it on the bus today or not. So, that's really some behavior we could use some help on.

We have three marvelous children. They're all in middle school right now. The first is Nathan. He just turned 14, and he's in the eighth grade. And then our twins, David and Eva, are 12 years old.

VICTOR RACZKOWSKI, FATHER: The main help we need is that homework and keeping our kids on track in school has become a source of strife and disharmony within the family. J. RACZKOWSKI: Victor and I made a decision this year -- I don't know how we're going to stick with it-- but why wait until the children go to college? And we're paying $40,000 a year to have them not do homework and not follow through and potentially drop out of school.

And you need to get your stuff packed up a little bit. This looks like a piece of homework here. The kids are not adopting any new behavior. And so I hope that Dr. Perry will be able to give us some suggestions.

STEVE PERRY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Steve Perry. Nice to meet you.

J. RACZKOWSKI: You know what? We feel like we just won the lottery --

PERRY: Do you?

J. RACZKOWSKI: Yes, we absolutely do! We're so glad you're here.

PERRY: Why is that?

J. RACZKOWSKI: Because we, the parents, have been working a long time on this and we want some expert advice, and I'm not kidding.

PERRY: So the first thing - Mom took a deep breath.

J. RACZKOWSKI: Yes.

PERRY: Why does Mom take a deep breath?

J. RACZKOWSKI: I'm just -- is it too late? I mean, they're already in middle school? Have we already missed the wall.

PERRY: That's a great question. Is it too late? no.

J. RACZKOWSKI: We've established some very weak skills here.

PERRY: It's a great question. Is it too late because they're in middle school? The answer is absolutely not. In fact, it's at this time and in high school when it's most important for parents to engage their children.

So, the first thing we have to do is we have to rework our schedules. We really do. Because in doing an audit of your time, what I found is there's a lot of wasted time. We know they all want to go to fine colleges and do very well in those schools, and we want to make sure that they're able to compete with those other students out there all over the world who are far more disciplined in their time.

So, what's going to be different about our schedule?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I'm going to wake up earlier.

PERRY: Yes. How about that? Right? J. RACZKOWSKI: They're not waking up. They're just - up.

PERRY: Even more. So, they don't go to bed?

J. RACZKOWSKI: Right.

PERRY: It's 1:00 in the morning, and you're 14 and 12-year-olds are up.

J. RACZKOWSKI: Yes.

PERRY: OK. So, one of the concerns next, we're going to talk about studying.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, if it's going to interfere with other things --

PERRY: Like what? What else do you have to do?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I don't know.

PERRY: You're 12, right?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I'm giving a hypothetical example here.

PERRY: But you're 12.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, yes, but -

PERRY: What else do you have to do?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Sports.

PERRY: Are they more important than getting the best grades you can?

So, that's the second thing is choice. Sometimes the most well- intended parents give children choices. David, the library is not your place to study. So, really a choice needs to be revisited for you. So, now here is the big one. This is the biggest one of all, follow through.

So, we come with the best plan in the world, no matter what it is, we can come up with the big plan in the world, but it doesn't work if we don't follow through.

When do you think the best time to do homework is?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I think it's best to do homework as soon as you get home from school because then you remember what your assignments are and you can whiz through it real quick and have the rest of the night to yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: We have agendas, so we write our assignments down every night -- or we're supposed to.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: But we just -- I think the best time is right after when we get to the library, and do our work there.

PERRY: But what about what Nathan just said? You remember more information when you return from school than you will three, four, five hours later.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, when you return from school, you've had a long day. You're hungry. You want to relax.

PERRY: You can't eat and write?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Well, then you get food on the paper. That looks messy.

PERRY: This is interesting from you, David. Mess concerns you. Now we're concerned about making a mess? I saw the grenade that exploded in your room. So, maybe we're not really concerned about mess. Maybe what we want to do is what we want to do.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: I've been trying, kind of.

PERRY: When you make the decision that you are going to stick to your guns because you know what's best for your children, then and only then, will they fall in line. As a principal, the parents who I see who get the most out of their children are the ones who are consistent. They have a structure in place, they monitor the structure, and they follow through, and that's all this is.

J. RACZKOWSKI: That's basically right.

PERRY: In terms of schedule, what can we expect from you, Nathan?

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: The thing is, I'm getting older. Less free time after school to just run around and do stuff and just crack down on homework, you know.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Yeah, probably me, too, less time to go do other stuff. More time for homework.

J. RACZKOWSKI: Maybe we just needed somebody else to step in and actually have them say that. I thought I was the only one, and I thought all my ideas were just -- solo. So, yes, it's amazing to have it coming from them, right? Absolutely. You've been holding back.

PERRY: So this is a good thing, right? What I want you to understand is that I understand that each one of you are different, different in your own ways. Even though you're twins, even though you're all brothers and sisters, even though you're both boys, and you two -- whatever that is, you're still different. And what we're looking to do is to establish strategies to play up what makes you different and what makes you beautiful so that you can become even more successful as students.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: All right. Our education contributor Steve Perry is here now joining us from Harvard, Connecticut. Steve, it sounds like these kids got a lot of options. I don't remember that.

PERRY: Too many options. You can imagine, if you will, a pantry full of everything, candy and cookies and right on the side there's an apple. When we give children the choice of everything, they're never going to touch the apple.

One of the most important things parents can do especially when it relates to education is take away a bunch of choices. Parents let children decide virtually everything when it comes to education, including in some cases where they go to school.

That's not their choice. Parents are the ones who are supposed to make the big divisions. One of the big decisions that we make is to establish a child's schedule. These children have established their own schedule.

Now be clear, these are really good kids, very good grades, but not as good as they could be. One of the reasons why is because they don't have the discipline that comes in an established structure that a parent should put in place.

HOLMES: All right, we have a little - we can hear you fine, see you all right, the screen is going in and out a little bit. Trying to keep going here, Steve. We might have to stop, but one more question in to you here at least.

That is the fact that these kids are older. If they've been getting away with this for so long, don't these parents have a heck of a time now trying to break all these habits that they set forth for so many years?

PERRY: Well, there's no easy time to break a bad habit. However, bad habits can, in fact, be broken. When these parents begin to make the commitment that's necessary in order for them to stay committed to this schedule, then the children will do what it is the children are supposed to do.

Think about this for a second, T.J., the oldest son, Nathan, when asked what do you think you should do, when do you think you should do homework? Nathan up to this point would get off the bus, literally drop off his book bag at the end of his driveway and just bounce.

He would just go off to his friend's house and they would have fun for the afternoon. Nathan said, I should come home and do my homework first. The kids know the right decisions to make. The parents just need to hold them to it.

HOLMES: Kids often know, you know right from wrong, just got to do it. All right, Steve Perry, we're going to be talking to you here in a minute as well about another topic, a $578 million school being built in L.A. what?

A lot of people scratching their head about that. We're going to get your comments coming up. So we'll talk to Steve here in just a sec second about that. Also, parents would you pack up and move to a different state to get your child a free college education, an education worth $180,000? One small college is offering a really good deal. We're taking you there. It's 10 minutes past the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: It's 12 minutes past the hour now. Looking at ways to fix our schools. Now we're talking about how to pay for college. That's always tough, but in this economy, it's even tougher.

Now I want to tell you about one college that's helping students get a first class education for free.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES (voice-over): At a time when economic hardship is taking a toll on families everywhere, putting money aside for college almost seems like an American dream itself.

Universities and colleges are also feeling the financial strain. Many schools are raising tuition and cutting back on scholarships and school programs to trim costs.

But that's not the case with Oberlin College, a liberal arts school in Oberlin, Ohio, just outside of Cleveland. In the past academic year, Oberlin has awarded over $48 million in scholarships, which comes from endowments, gifts and other sources. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That I don't have to wait to see the great things that will come out of this class. In truth, we're already doing big things.

HOLMES: In 2001, Oberlin College developed a special scholarship just for students at the local high school. So any Oberlin high school graduating senior who is accepted gets to go for free.

(on camera): Tell me how much money are you saving by going to school right here in your hometown?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With federal financial aid, it comes out to about $45,000 a year so, yes.

HOLMES: That's what you are saving?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

HOLMES: So over four years, do the math.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $180,000.

HOLMES: 180 grand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

HOLMES: That you will not have to deal with when you graduate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

HOLMES (voice-over): For some families this once in a lifetime opportunity means their children receive a college education that they otherwise couldn't afford, especially for families like the Gilfeathers who have two sons attending Oberlin College.

CASEY GILFETHER, SONS ATTEND OBERLIN COLLEGE: I've been a successful homebuilder, developer, and the home building crisis devastated my business and I went bankrupt.

So I couldn't have come at a better time for our family. When you see it all slip away and you don't know if it could ever happen and then it's made possible, it's a gift.

SUZANNE MILLETTE-GEORGE, MELISSA'S MOTHER: She couldn't get that anywhere else. So we're grateful for the scholarship, I am.

MELISSA GEORGE, STUDENT: Me, too. I'm pretty sure I would have had to pay a lot of it.

HOLMES: During the past academic year, Oberlin College has awarded more than $3 million to qualifying Oberlin high school students. Recipients of the scholarship say it's a life-changing opportunity.

KEVIN GILFEATHER, OBERLIN COLLEGE STUDENT: The financial component isn't necessarily there. My parents don't make a tremendous amount of money and things like that.

I feel like for me this is an opportunity that I have to take and I have to do well with because I don't have a mulligan, I can't do it over.

HOLMES: With a great free opportunity right in their own backyard, why are some Oberlin high school students opting to pay for college elsewhere?

NIGEL MCMILLION, STUDENT: You know that it's going to be difficult, you know that you're not going to be far away from home, and I say, yes, that's true, but you're going to be maybe $100,000 in debt at the end of this. I only have whatever room and board costs there were.

DEBRA CHERMONTE, OBERLIN COLLEGE DEAN OF ADMISSIONS: I think like any student, the concern of coming to college in your neighborhood is the familiarity and you may think that there's something better out there.

HOLMES: Oberlin College hopes to continue finding ways for students and families to attain the American dream of a college education without the financial burden.

MARVIN KRISLOV, PRESIDENT, OBERLIN COLLEGE: Tremendous effect in terms of helping improve the schools, in terms of sending a message to the kids. It's important to go to school, stay in school, and if you excel, you have this opportunity for a free ride to one of the best colleges in America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Now you are hearing there about Oberlin being rich in resources, but rich in history there as well. The city and school have ties dating back to the underground railroads, the first college to have a policy to admit students of color in the first to grant bachelors' degrees to women.

Twenty nine hundred students attend Oberlin College and just last month U.S. news and World Report listed the school as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the nation.

Now, again, the kids that can get into the school that attend Oberlin high school get to go for free. They have high standards at the school. Not easy to get into, but if you can make it you've got a free ride.

Coming up, it costs more than half a billion dollars to build this public school. It's in one of L.A.'s poorest neighborhoods. Some say it's about time. Others say this is just crazy. Take you inside. It's 17 minutes past the hour. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Well, it's 20 minutes past the hour now. If you build it, will they come? The most expensive school possibly in the country opening up in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Southern California. The cost? More than $500 million, but will the desire to learn here trump outrage at its exorbitant price tag. Here now our Thelma Gutierrez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one of the poorest inner city neighborhoods in Los Angeles where dilapidated, severely over-crowded schools force kids to be bused far away. A community who fought for new schools for two decades, finally they got it.

(on camera): This brand new high school in the heart of Los Angeles is being called the Taj Mahal of public schools. It has fine art murals, luxurious auditorium, classrooms that have wireless internet access, even a flat screen TV embedded in the sidewalk.

All of these G-risk factors are actually stirring up controversy in the community. Why?

(voice-over): Because it costs more than half billion dollars to build. Making Robert F. Kennedy School, the nation's most expensive K through 12 school ever.

CRISSINA JOHNSON, PARENT: In light of all the cut-backs and teachers being terminated, I was in shock. I couldn't believe it.

GUTIERREZ: Cristina Johnson is a parent from another part of the city who's upset that so much money was spent on one school while so many other schools are falling apart.

GUILLERMINA LOPEZ, PARENT: It's worth it for the education of the students is not a loss of money.

GUTIERREZ: Guillermina Lopez was part of the parent group that spent 17 years fighting for the school. She says poor students also deserve a great school.

JAMES SOHN, DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES, LAUSD: There's audio visual equipment, smart boards, internet access through Wi-Fi as well as through fiber optic.

GUTIERREZ: James Sohn with the Los Angeles Unified School District gave us a tour of the campus.

SOHN: You're standing inside of our high school gymnasium. It is a competition gymnasium of approximately 10,000 square feet. You're looking at a full competition pool that we designed to be available for the community to use after hours and after schools and on the weekends.

GUTIERREZ: Robert F. Kennedy School sits on 23 acres on the site of the Ambassador Hotel where the former president's brother was assassinated in 1968.

It's actually several schools in one, elementary, middle school and high school. Student capacity here is 4,200. The school has a state-of-the-art library, a designer staff lounge, auditorium that pays tribute to the legendary hotel.

JOHNSON: And then you look on the other side of town or even around the corner and schools are falling apart, teachers are being laid off, they don't have enough computers or equipment in their classes.

GUTIERREZ: Cristina Johnson pointed out the differences at Westchester High where her daughter, Diane, will go to school, the auditorium, athletic fields, the gymnasium, and the teachers' lounge.

Johnson says the school is in desperate need of repair and says the school's website doesn't even work. But the L.A. School District says it wants parents to understand the money wasn't taken from one school to give to another.

SOHN: The district is unapologetic about the fact that we can spend the right amount of money to build a wonderful school for our students.

GUTIERREZ: The district says the money came from a bond measure passed by voters that earmarked funds for this school alone. But at a time when the district is laying off teachers saying it's out of money, the half billion dollar campus is a tough sell. Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: All right, let me bring Steve Perry back into this conversation. Steve, I just got a note from our John Zarrella who covers NASA, he says a shuttle mission is about half a billion dollars. The school is more expensive than that, but still, shouldn't all of our schools look like this?

PERRY: All of our schools should be very good schools, but -- great schools, but that's not determined by half a billion dollar price tag.

Our school which we just opened up a new building last night costs us $42.5 million. It will house about 800 to 900 students, grades 6-12. It doesn't cost half a billion dollars to build a great school.

Much of what I would imagine they spent money on is not going to impact the children's actual learning environment, but it sounds quite a bit of it has to do is with the aesthetics of it, murals and the like.

HOLMES: What's the benefit -

PERRY: Internet access doesn't cost that much.

HOLMES: Yes, but what's the benefit still of having a student in this time of glorious environment that they can enjoy?

PERRY: What's the benefit? I mean, again, is it necessary, it is not necessary. The benefit is having your child in front of an amazing teacher. That's the benefit. That doesn't cost half a billion dollars.

Even though it's a campus, even though the community says that they fought for it. I do not imagine under these circumstances, these economic circumstances that is, in fact, what they need to spend in order to make an effect I school.

We too often as community members and as educators put our focus in the wrong place. At the money needs to be spent on the buildings, it needs to be spent on making sure that we train and support effective education in the classroom. That's where the rubber meets the road. That's where the success happens. That's it. That's all.

HOLMES: A mistake made here then?

PERRY: Was it a mistake? The water is already out of the cup. There's nothing they can do to recoup the money. They just - they'd better make sure it's a dog gone good school, I tell you that much.

HOLMES: All right, well, I know --

PERRY: Their test scores better not suck.

HOLMES: We will check the test scores here this coming school year. Steve, we appreciate you participating in this half hour with us. Always good to see you, buddy. We'll talk to you again soon. PERRY: Nice to see you as well.

HOLMES: All right, quick break. We'll be right back. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, we are keeping a very close eye still on this storm. Yes, it is weakening, but still causing fits for some. Folks, it's Tropical Storm Earl now. Our Reynolds Wolf keeping a very close eye on it for us. We're going to be back at the top of the hour with more live news. Now I'll hand it over to "YOUR BOTTOM LINE."