RICHMOND, Va. - A new program aims to give underserved students of color extra support to close education and workforce training gaps that have grown worse during the pandemic.
The Racial Equity for Adult Credentials in Higher Education (REACH) program helps Black, Hispanic and Native American students deal with barriers to attending community colleges that many white students don't face.
Wayne Taliaferro, strategy officer with Lumina Foundation, which is co-sponsoring the program in Virginia and five other states, said REACH might help students of color with child care, transportation or counseling - to enhance Virginia's workforce training programs at community colleges.
"Since 2016, Virginia's been investing in short-term training programs," he said, "and then they also allow students to come back and seek further study. And so, that is something that's like, 'Oh, that's a bright spot that we can maybe build upon.'"
From the $8 million initiative, he said they hope to see at least a 2% increase in adults of color gaining credits or career advancement over the next two years. In addition to Virginia, funding will flow to community colleges in states including California, Colorado and Texas.
Even before the pandemic, Taliaferro said, higher education wasn't meeting the needs of adult students of color. As a result of chronic underfunding and other obstacles, he said, disparities arose in degree completion, job placement and earnings.
"The REACH Collaborative aims to take an active step in shifting from this present reality at community colleges, where the bulk of adult students of color are enrolled," he said. "A lot of adults enter community colleges to gain skills for jobs at different entry points. But the onramps don't always lead to quality outcomes and better earnings - or outcomes at all."
Although the numbers of Black and Latino college students have risen in the past 35 years, research shows the deficit in bachelors-degree attainment between whites and students of color has increased during that time, from 15 to 21 percentage points.
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Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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Nearly a dozen changes could be made to the Kentucky Community and Technical College system, under Senate Joint Resolution 179, passed by lawmakers earlier this year.
The system's Acting Executive Vice President and Provost Phil Neal said the Board of Regents' recommendations are aimed at improving the process to obtaining two-year college degrees, and expanding options for students.
He said one major change includes collaboration between schools and the state Department of Education, to make it easier to offer dual and transfer credits.
"For example, on the transfer front," said Neal, "one of our recommendations that would be a change is that our eight public universities and our 16 KCTCS colleges, would all have a common course-numbering system for freshmen and sophomore level courses - and that just helps students more seamlessly transfer."
A former chief of staff is suing the system in a whistleblower lawsuit, alleging she faced retaliation for reporting waste and mismanagement.
Last week a Franklin County Circuit Court judge denied a request by the system that the case be dismissed.
A recent audit found a need to improve internal policies and procedures, but found no evidence of fraud or criminal behavior.
Neal said the state's Community and Technical College System has among the most affordable tuition rates in the state, and serves more than 66,000 students.
"We lead the country, number one, in the number of credentials conferred per capita," said Neal. "So the production of people with credentials is right up there at the top. Half of our 16 colleges have been recognized as some of the top performing community colleges in the country."
Americans' views on the importance of a college degree is shifting.
According to a Pew study released earlier this year, only one in four U.S. adults say it's extremely or very important to have a four-year college degree, in order to get a well-paying job in today's economy.
Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.
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Recent changes to Florida's education laws have removed information on consent, contraceptives and prenatal development from many health lessons at school.
Parents are concerned the Florida Department of Education's policies may leave some districts without vital instruction.
Stephana Ferrell, director of research and insight for the Florida Freedom to Read Project in Orange County, is worried about what she sees as gaps in her children's education, including access to comprehensive health information.
"It's unfortunate that parents have been opted out of these educational experiences," Ferrell stated. "But it's now time for us all to get informed about what our kids are missing and make the extra effort to ensure that our young citizens are armed with this information."
Advocacy groups, including PEN America and EveryLibrary, cautioned overcompliance with state laws may lead to the removal of books on topics like anatomy, teen pregnancy and sexual assault. In a joint letter, they urged Florida school superintendents and school board attorneys to exercise restraint and preserve the resources for students.
Ferrell described a clash between two views: one believing ignorance protects innocence, and another believing being informed is the best way to understand and avoid risks. She sided with the latter, saying education safeguards the community.
"We really are trying to encourage that information to remain available," Ferrell emphasized. "There are lots of nonfiction, well-written and age-appropriate materials that can be made available in the library, and have been made available in libraries in the past."
Florida school districts have struggled for years to determine which books should remain in libraries under laws signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis. The laws allow parents and others to challenge books deemed "inappropriate," though recent legislative changes limit the number of challenges. This fall, the Department of Education released a list of more than 700 books removed from, or discontinued in, schools statewide.
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New York's Board of Regents approved a Department of Education funding request for climate education.
The board is putting more than $536,000 aside for climate change education and materials.
New Jersey is the only state mandating climate change be taught in all subject areas. Connecticut teaches it as well, but primarily in science.
Emily Fano, director of climate resilience education programs with the National Wildlife Federation, described how climate change can be taught across multiple subject areas.
"There are so many ways climate can be integrated into math class, graphing greenhouse gas emissions for example," said Fano. "Social studies, you can talk about social movements like the youth climate movement that has grown by leaps and bounds all over the world."
She added that health classes could teach the health impacts of air pollution and poor air quality.
The funding allotment faces no opposition, and a Yale University report finds 81% of New York adults feel climate change should be taught in schools. This is higher than the national average of 75%.
If the funding's approved, climate change will be taught in New York schools starting in the 2026-2027 school year.
But, climate education has faced an uphill battle.
A bill establishing a course on climate change in elementary and secondary schools garnered widespread support. But, it failed in the state legislature.
Fano said along with a new climate education bill, more work must be done to make this a reality.
"We'll continue working with the state education department and our partners to make sure that our students are going to get the climate education they need and deserve," said Fano. "So, we will continue working on this issue regardless, but we really hope the Governor understands the urgency of this request."
While this funding request provides a framework for training current educators about how to teach climate change, Fano said she wants this training for people studying to be teachers.
An Education Week Research Center poll finds 18% of teachers don't address climate change because they feel out of their element discussing it.
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