A Conspicuous Absence
The nation’s capital not only has one of the highest unemployment rates, but is also the only big U.S. city without a stand-alone community college. Is there a connection?
By David Pluviose
Every major city in every state in the country has a public community college, as do U.S. territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico. President Bush, Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan and civic and business leaders of all stripes are increasingly talking up community colleges as critical to training U.S. workers for ever-changing job needs in the global marketplace.
However, despite near-universal agreement that community colleges are instrumental to the prosperity of communities everywhere, one major city is lacking one — the nation’s capital.
