OLYMPIA, Wash. – Este año la Legislatura de Washington tendrá que armar bajo orden judicial un plan para fondear completamente las escuelas públicas del estado. Aunque se trata de un asunto que ha sido espinoso, una coalición lo ve como oportunidad. Comenta Sharonne Navas, co-fundadora y directora ejecutiva de la Coalición pro Equidad en la Educación (Equity in Education Coalition).
Para muchos legisladores de Olympia, la decisión McCleary y cómo fondear propiamente las escuelas públicas, han significado un tropiezo. Pero Sharonne Navas, quien encabeza la Coalición Equidad en la Educación (“Equity in Education Coalition”), ve el problema como una oportunidad para que este año los legisladores piensen fuera del molde. Su grupo y varios más lanzaron la “Campaña para el Éxito del Estudiante” (Campaign for Student Success), enfocada a traer equidad a las escuelas públicas de Washington. Navas afirma que el fondeo de la escuela actualmente está basado en cuánto tiempo de trabajo del personal puede pagar el estado, pero podría cambiar a una fórmula más centrada en los estudiantes.
“Para que los estudiantes que habitan en comunidades rurales, los que están viviendo en pobreza, reciban más recursos –porque ellos enfrentan varios obstáculos que muchos de nuestros estudiantes no tienen que enfrentar. Y esa es una manera es mucho más justa, más equitativa de fondear la educación.”
En 2012 la Suprema Corte del estado resolvió en el caso ‘McCleary versus Washington’, que el estado fondeara ampliamente la educación pública “para todos los estudiantes residentes dentro de sus fronteras, sin distinción de preferencia.” La Legislatura fijó el año 2018 como último límite para que se cumpla con la orden.
Navas dice que el aprendizaje después de clases podría ser un componente importante. Los programas para después del horario escolar pueden ayudar a cerrar la brecha en el aprendizaje de los alumnos de Washington, pero no todos los estudiantes tienen esa opción.
“No deberían ser penalizados por no tener esos servicios. Sabemos que el mejor momento para captar chicos y ayudarles con sus deberes es justo después de clases, porque algunos padres tienen que trabajar hasta las 6 o las 7.”
Navas dice también que detecta en Olympia una hambre por tener una conversación que incluya esperanza y dar a cada estudiante de Washington una oportunidad para triunfar.
“Durante un tiempo realmente largo, la conversación fue sólo acerca del dinero. Y ahora la conversación es: ‘OK, sí, necesitamos dinero, pero ¿cómo podemos re-imaginar la educación, para que cada chico llegue a su nivel de éxito?’”
Sitio Web de “Campaign for Student Success” (Campaña para el Éxito del Estudiante): https://wastudentsnow.org/our-coalition
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A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education.
The survey reveals merely 23% of U.S. adults without college degrees could estimate the annual net cost of a bachelor's degree from a public college within $5,000 of the actual expense. The repercussions of the financial fog can be overwhelming for students.
Gabriela Espinoza, a 27-year-old nursing student at IUPUI in Indianapolis, said looming debt from school casts a shadow over her future.
"I'm trying to figure out what my debt is going to look like and how long it's going to take me to pay off," Espinoza explained. "I'm luckily in a position right now where I live at home with mom, and she's been helping me out. You know, eventually, I'd like to think about moving out and moving on my own."
Among those polled, 75% believe a bachelor's degree is "extremely" or "very" valuable. However, cost is a major deterrent for many who wish to get a degree. Experts say higher education leaders need to bring clarity to the true cost of college to reduce confusion and provide a pathway for the millions of Americans who have considered college but have not yet enrolled.
For those participating in the poll, 31% have considered stopping coursework within the last three months due to the cost of attending college.
Parker Madison, another nursing student at IUPUI, said the expense is a major concern.
"If you get your college education, you still may be making the same amount as someone without a degree," Madison pointed out. "I feel like sometimes the college education's not even worth it."
More than half, about 56%, of unenrolled adults said cost is a very important reason they are not pursuing a post-high school education. Debt is also a factor for students who stopped out of college, with 35% of students saying loans prevented them from returning to finishing their degree.
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Educators and public school advocates are pushing back on a measure which would consolidate state-funded services that have been an important part of schools in rural Iowa for generations. Some state lawmakers said the funding could be used more efficiently.
Area Education Agencies have been the go-to place for educators in rural Iowa when they need state services at the local level, in all 99 Iowa counties. House Bill 2612 would consolidate the agencies, outsource some of their services and give the state oversight of them.
Mike Owen, deputy director of the group Common Good Iowa, said the agencies have been critical resources for generations.
"The Area Education Agencies have been a very valuable regional system that helps school districts, large and small, with various services that they can't really do on their own," Owen explained. "From special education to media services, to professional development of teachers."
Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed the measure, said it will provide a more efficient way to spend the state's education dollars. It is scheduled to take effect July 1.
The battle over public school funding has been playing out on a variety of fronts in Iowa, which enjoys a reputation for some of the best-quality public education in the nation. The state recently enacted a private school voucher program, paid for with state dollars.
Owen sees consolidating the Area Education Agencies and outsourcing some of the services they provide as another step in the wrong direction for Iowa's K-12 classrooms.
"It's total disrespect to locally elected decision-makers for schools," Owen contended. "One more example of how education, unfortunately, is being used to pit people against one another, when it is really a unifying value for Iowans."
There are nine Area Education Agencies in Iowa. The State Department of Education will assume oversight of all of them.
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The solar eclipse has sparked more interest in science and technology, especially among young people.
But the saying, 'You can't be what you don't see,' is a reality for youth of color considering a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math career.
A 2024 Black Girls and STEM Report indicates this demographic aspires to become astronauts, engineers and more -- but a lack of Black representation can dampen their enthusiasm.
Crystal Morton is the founder and director of the Girls STEM Institute, which offers courses for girls ages 7 to 18.
She said the emphasis is on relevant cultural content and careers for girls who might not otherwise have access to these experiences.
"That might be doing a session on the science of Black hair," said Morton, "looking at different products to understand the science behind how that product is made, and what's in that product or how it may be impacting them. So, we make our own products. You can be able to look at a label and say, 'Hey, I should be able to pronounce what I'm putting on my skin, or in my hair.'"
She said the students quickly get the connections.
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics says about one-third of STEM workers are women. But Black workers make up only 18% of the 35 million people employed in STEM fields.
Morton said the Institute's Saturday programs are in partnership with the Indiana University, Indianapolis School of Education. And in the summer, volunteers engage with students about careers in aviation and medicine.
As a former math teacher, Morton said she believes early exposure to this information is key, and said kids begin showing their curiosity as early as third grade.
"Understanding how things happen with technology, that they all need to have different mathematical levels of understanding," said Morton. "They need to have computational thinking skills, because that's the way this world is moving. And I believe that they do have it -- if you just sit back and watch them play, you see the problem solving happen."
A report on Indiana's STEM education priorities shows the number of undergraduate degrees is up since 2015, but the number of STEM-related degrees awarded hasn't moved much.
Hispanic and Black students earn between 3% and 5% of those STEM degrees. They make up 6% and 9% of the state's population, respectively.
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