Three months ago, a number of women from my very small, all-girls' high school got in touch on Facebook. One person led to another who knew three more and all of a sudden here were these multiple tiny, grown-up heads in avatars that I'd last seen in 1988. Our school closed in 1990 when the nuns ran out of money, and in the years since I kept in touch with one person, my closest friend from those years, but for the most part the rest of us scattered to who knew where.

A report (PDF) by the America's Promise Alliance shows that urban students are graduating from high school at alarmingly low rates. According to the report, "Only about one-half (52 percent) of students in the principal school systems of the 50 largest cities complete high school with a diploma." The report covers the country's 50 largest cities and documents a distinct advantage of suburban students over urban dwellers. For example, in Baltimore's metropolitan area, only 34.6 percent of students in urban districts who entered high school in 2003 graduated, while 81.5 percent their suburban Baltimore peers finished--a gap of 47 percent. Even worse: fewer than one in four students finishes high school in the Detroit City School District.

When I woke up Sunday morning, Jan. 13, I did not envision myself spending most of my day at a Mardis Gras parade in Slidell, La., by the Krewe of Slidellians (aka The Slidell Women's Civic Club) even though I knew my son would be marching in the parade with his high-school band.

The New York Times reported this week that students at some high schools are being forced to declare majors. The schools see such a move as making their students more competitive for college. The NYT article explains that students "are expected to stick with their major through four years unless they have a compelling reason to change."