During my final semester at Georgetown University, I was able to take a class in the philosophy of education, intern at the Alliance for Excellent Education, and start the process towards becoming a teacher in the school district of Philadelphia. With a strong interest in educational reform, I started the semester with many questions and a hope that many would be answered. Reflecting upon these past four months, I realized I have developed more questions than answers. My questions, however, have become more focused. Being able to learn about issues such as technology’s role in education and the specific needs of exceptional students, I am more acutely aware of the challenges we face in reforming our education system.

High school dropouts aged 25 to 34 years old were twice as likely to be living below the poverty line in 2008, according to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

The report, Poverty in the United States: 2008, finds that 34.7 percent of 25-34 year olds without a high school diploma were living in poverty in 2008, compared to 16.7 percent of individuals whose highest level of educational attainment was a high school diploma. Conversely, only 4.4 percent of individuals aged 25-34 with at least a bachelor’s degree were considered poor.

Last week, the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program released the State of Metropolitan America , an impressive and timely in-depth look at the nation’s changing urban areas. In the report, the authors describe the uneven higher educational attainment of urban residents. In particuar, they focus on older adults—who tend to be more educated than their younger peers. The authors credit this disconnect to a new reality in which a growing number of young adults attend postsecondary education but never complete a program or degree.

Welcome to the Alliance for Excellent Education’s new blog, High School Soup! The creation of this blog is the first step in a major effort to expand the Alliance’s ability to interact with larger audiences so we can work together to improve education.