HELENA, Mont. -- Higher-education institutions will need major investments to safely reopen this fall, according to Montana faculty. Nationwide, the American Federation of Teachers is calling for $50 billion for public colleges and universities to reopen.

Megan Stark is president of the University Faculty Association at the University of Montana. She said students are going to need support in many areas if they come back to campus this fall.

"It's not true that we only have an obligation to meet our students' academic needs," Stark said. "We have a community need to serve as well."

AFT estimates that without federal investments, 400,000 higher-education jobs will be lost across the country. The HEROES Act, passed by the House and currently in the Senate, would provide $26 billion for higher education.

Colleges and universities have a list of needs, including safety precautions such as masks and the ability to do deep cleaning in classrooms and practice social distancing on campuses.

With online learning playing a crucial role in education, Stark said funding also is needed to address the digital divide between students who have access to computers and the internet and those who don't.

"It is a very real barrier that students experience," she said, "and the inequity that it creates is tremendous."

Although this fall may not be like other years, Stark said students are eager to see each other and be back in the classroom. She said some have even found new inspirations in their academic lives.

"I've heard from students whose passions around their education purpose have been really reignited by some of the issues that have emerged out of the pandemic," she said.

Congress is negotiating the next round of coronavirus stimulus before members go home for the August recess.


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Reading scores for Indiana's grade school students have reflected below average readiness levels on the state's recent achievement tests.

Educators said a software program in some schools is making a difference. The Indiana Department of Education supports a digital reading tool called "Readable English," which makes the English language phonetic with an embedded pronunciation guide, while keeping the spelling intact.

Tammy Miller, chief academic officer of Readable English, said schools have used the program during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years.

"The Department of Education in Indiana funded 27 schools to use Readable English at the middle school level in grades five through eight, and to take a look at that longitudinal data on the ILEARN scores in order to determine if this could be a way to help our students actually catch up," Miller explained.

Several Indiana school districts received the Readable English grant of nearly $350,000, including the Bloomfield School District, Eastern Greene Schools, Mitchell Community Schools, and North Lawrence Community Schools. Schools are also using the program in Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, California, Georgia and Florida.

Miller noted students using the Readable English program increased their reading performance by nearly 10 times compared to their baseline ILEARN scores. Education site Chalkbeat reports ILEARN's 2024 results show 41 % of students were proficient or better in English language arts, up from 40.7% in 2023.

Miller views reading as more than just a required school subject and stressed it prepares a person for life beyond the classroom.

"Being literate is really the great equalizer in our society," Miller asserted. "Our children deserve to be able to read proficiently, and many would say that it is a civil right. It's absolutely critical that we pay attention to the reading issue in our state in order to provide a prepared workforce to our business and corporate community."

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development focuses on increasing the number of skilled workers to fill current job positions, while attracting new domestic and international business to the state.

In a country where Black men make up less than 2% of the teaching workforce, a program in Jacksonville is working to shift the balance by recruiting 1,000 Black male teachers by 2025.

Led by the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, the "1,000 by 2025" initiative seeks to increase classroom diversity, offering essential representation for Black students who often lack role models within the education system.

Danté Jennings, director of strategic initiatives for the Jacksonville Public Education Fund, said in addition to research showing net positive results, he believes the effort is crucial to ensuring students see themselves reflected in the classroom.

"Not only is it positive for our Black and Brown students to see themselves and who they're getting taught, inspired, molded by - corrected by, even - in schools as well," Jennings asserted. "All students benefit from having diverse male presence in their buildings."

Since its launch, the initiative has made steady progress. However, Jennings acknowledged significant challenges in recruitment, including low pay and retention issues. As of the latest count in September, more than 700 diverse male educators have joined classrooms, approaching the program's goal.

Meanwhile, discussions on educational equity and representation are gaining momentum nationally. Vice President Kamala Harris recently announced her "Opportunity Agenda for Black Men," which includes expanding loan forgiveness programs for Black male teachers and investing in HBCU-led initiatives aligning closely with Jacksonville's goal to build a sustainable pipeline of educators.

Despite challenges, Jennings noted the program is reassessing and troubleshooting issues to reach its goals, forging collaborations with local universities, including historically Black colleges and universities.

"The teacher vacancy to teacher discrepancy in the workforce versus the student demographics is not unique to Jacksonville," Jennings pointed out. "It is a nationwide issue. So we wanted to kind of position ourselves as a model for what could be done."

Jennings hopes the partnerships will create structured pathways for students in teacher education programs to enter the profession, providing mentorship and financial support. Research shows Black male teachers, like Black male students, often encounter racial biases, including heightened scrutiny and misunderstandings from school administrators and peers, which poses another challenge for recruitment.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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In the race for New Hampshire governor, the future of public education is on the line.

Democrat and former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig opposes expanding the state's private school voucher program, while Republican former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte aims to remove the income cap for voucher eligibility.

Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association-New Hampshire, said the goal of the voucher program is to dismantle public schools.

"It is taking money, it's diverting money away from the public schools and it's putting it into a separate education system," Tuttle pointed out.

Tuttle noted more than 90% of New Hampshire students attend public schools, while the majority of students with vouchers were already enrolled in private, religious or home schools. The vouchers have siphoned more than $70 million from public school districts over the past four years.

The next governor will also determine the fate of current state Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut, a staunch supporter of vouchers and a so-called Parental Bill of Rights which limits the topics teachers can discuss in the classroom. Ayotte has supported Edelblut's efforts, while Craig said she would immediately replace him.

Tuttle argued Edelblut's disdain for public education has hurt both teacher retention and recruitment efforts.

"It doesn't help anybody who might want to go into education, because they will be going into a profession where they're going to be attacked," Tuttle asserted. "They're not treated as professionals."

Ayotte said she would reward good teachers by improving pay and benefits but ensure they are not bringing politics or gender ideology into the classroom. Craig said she wants to increase teacher pay along with training and professional development.

A 2023 teacher survey found many are leaving the profession due to low pay and what many consider to be a devaluation of their profession.


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