Imani: Jonah, are you really going to speak at the board meeting in favor of letting more seniors take classes at the community college?

Jonah: I am. Right now only twelve students a year are allowed into the program, and the district chooses them by grade point average.

Imani: That seems sensible to me. A college class is a lot harder. If a student who is struggling here fails a college course, it stays on a college transcript for good.

Jonah: That is a real risk, and I am not going to pretend it is not. But look at what the rule actually does. The students with the highest grades are the ones who would go to college anyway. The students the program could help most are the ones who have never pictured themselves in a college classroom, and the rule keeps every one of them out.

Imani: So you would let anyone sign up?

Jonah: I would let anyone apply, and require every applicant to meet with a counselor first, so the student and the counselor decide together whether the timing is right. If the worry is that some students are not ready, the answer is better advising, not a cutoff that decides for them.