Tennessee high school graduation rates have been declining over the past few years, and some experts believe providing more opportunities for vocational and tech training could help reverse the trend.

State data show around half of high school seniors are choosing not to attend college or a technical college after graduation.

Chris Sinacola, co-editor of "Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts' National Model Vocational-Technical Schools," said vocational training in high school can guide students into good-paying jobs.

"These tech schools are actually taking their juniors and seniors and placing them with companies in the community, where they're getting paid real wages for real work," Sinacola explained. "Very often, this leads directly to a career as soon as they graduate."

Sincola pointed to research showing the number of jobs paying $55,000 a year or more which do not require a traditional four-year college diploma is on the rise nationwide. Critics of early vocational training argue they can "single-track" individuals who may have otherwise acquired and cultivated a solid academic foundation and multiple skill sets needed to retool and adapt to a fast-changing economy.

Shortages of workers in fields like construction and automotive tech are also contributing to the surge in interest in technical and vocational training.

Sincola pointed out work-based learning programs, already being implemented in Tennessee, can help guide young adults into self-sufficiency, especially if schools developed strong ties with local businesses.

"It's giving these kids the opportunity to earn money, gain experience and move directly into a field that can pay really well," Sincola emphasized.

Sinacola added in states like Massachusetts, between 50% and 70% of students in vocational-tech high schools have gone onto some kind of postsecondary training.

Hispanic and Latino workers have high employment rates in the U.S. but continue to experience a shortage of jobs paying enough to lift them into the middle class, according to a new study.

Jessica Vela, research assistant in tax and budget policy at the Center for American Progress, said America relies on millions of front line workers, but the typically low-wage jobs are often held by people of color, and the darker their skin, the more discrimination they face.

She added many Latino workers, particularly those of Mexican, Guatemalan, Honduran and Salvadoran descent, work in jobs where labor violations are common, including hospitality or caregiving.

"This is the root of systemic racism within the U.S.," Vela asserted. "This can impact individuals trying to find a job, trying to keep a job."

Census data show the percentage of Latino adults with at least an associate's degree is 20 points lower than for white adults. Earlier this year, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board began efforts to examine whether a postsecondary degree is producing credentials of value leading to higher earnings for all, and not just some students.

Latinos are 17% of the overall workforce, but represent 24% of the tipped worker population. According to the report, tipped workers often make subminimum wages, are at the mercy of the economy, and were laid off by the millions during the pandemic.

Vela added many of them were Hispanic women, who lost jobs at alarming rates starting in April 2020.

"Hispanic women 20 and older experienced one of the highest unemployment rates by race, gender, ethnicity; a little over 20%," Vela reported. "Losing jobs, it can be really difficult with labor markets to find other jobs, leaving them vulnerable to not being able to provide."

The U.S. Hispanic and Latino population is projected to comprise the majority of net new workers this decade. At the same time, the U.S. wage gap is related to education levels, work experience and immigration status.

Advocates want a higher federal minimum wage and more grants to help people afford to go to college or a trade school.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.

By Katie Fleischer for Ms. Magazine
Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service/Public News Service

After another school year impacted by the COVID pandemic, the long-term effects of educational disruptions are increasingly visible. Years of increased stress, financial burdens, and virtual schooling have affected children as well as adults: Test scores have fallen, rates of behavioral issues and absenteeism are up, and students are struggling to maintain their mental health and social skills.

These effects manifest disproportionately in Black and brown families. While students in majority-white schools are starting to recover to pre-pandemic success rates, students in majority-Black schools remain five months behind pre-pandemic math and reading levels-leaving them a full 12 months behind their peers in majority-white schools.

This widening education gap is a devastating sign that many Black children will continue to be marginalized by structural racism and classism throughout their lives. Women of color, particularly Black women, already disproportionately face systemic barriers in higher education and attaining high-paying jobs. The increased learning gap will only broaden those disparities.

For low-income families, this education gap is particularly dire. After the expanded child tax credit (CTC) expired in January, the childhood poverty rate rose from 12% to 17%, and soared to more than 23% for Latino children and 25% for Black children.

Low-income parents across the country are now struggling to provide for their families and support their children's education. For example, essential worker Johnnie was forced to leave her job during the pandemic to care for her daughter, highlighting some of the unique challenges low-income working moms face:

"During the pandemic, it was really hard for me because it was mandatory for me to go to work, but then my daughter was home from school and I didn't have anyone to be there to help her. I ended up leaving my job because it was not safe and my daughter was not able to continue with school without my help. I didn't have any options, so I had to quit my job to help my baby. I want her to have an education and I couldn't let her fall behind."

And regardless of the pandemic, many employers devalue and ignore challenges employed mothers face. Guaranteed income recipient Sequaya was forced to choose between her job and her daughter's safety:

"When school started back up this fall, I had to leave the warehouse job because there was no one to help my daughter get to and from her own school. They wanted me to work 12-hour shifts, and there's just no way to do that when you have a little kid who needs to get on and off the bus around a normal school day. I tried to get my manager to help me work around it, but he wouldn't budge. I had to be at work at 5 a.m. and her bus doesn't come until 7 a.m., and you know what he said? He said to just leave her outside and let her wait. He told me that twice. He said I had to make a decision, and so I did. I left. Motherhood comes first. But that experience hurt, even though I know I did the right thing and walked away with a smile."

Both Johnnie and Sequaya were forced to make difficult decisions to prevent their children from falling behind in school. But most low-income families don't have that option. As Magnolia Mother's Trust (MMT) guaranteed income recipients, Johnnie and Sequaya had the financial ability to leave their jobs and support their children's education.

Guaranteed income is a transformational economic justice policy that involves providing monthly payments to specific marginalized groups. Based in Jackson, Miss., MMT provides Black mothers living in extreme poverty $1,000 per month for a year. Even just a year of receiving consistent and unrestricted payments enables the recipients to escape cycles of debt and poverty and prioritize the long-term needs of their children.

The success of the Magnolia Mother's Trust, which is now in its fourth cohort, demonstrates guaranteed income's far-reaching effects on low-income families and communities.

After one year of receiving monthly payments:

A teacher shortage is expected in many parts of the country this fall, and Texas is no exception.

The Texas chapter of the American Federation of Teachers announced it expects hundreds of classrooms to be without teachers when school starts next month. To ease the crisis, the chapter said one strategy is to find certified long-term substitutes for vacancies not filled by the first day of school.

Nicola Soares, president of Kelly Education, a service that provides substitute teachers, said the shortage is a complex problem.

"Much of the demand that we see around substitute teachers is really systemic to another issue," she said, "and that issue being our full-time teaching workforce leaving the profession, and a younger generation that is just simply not entering into the profession at all."

Certification is not required to be a substitute teacher in Texas, but those who are certified typically earn more money. Soares noted that 20 years ago, about 10% of incoming college freshmen were pursuing teaching degrees - a number that now is closer to 3%.

Soares said many people who secure loans to pay for college may fear a teacher's salary won't cover the required payments after graduation, along with housing and other expenses. She said teachers also express fear about working in classrooms because of school shooting incidents. Still others have options that didn't exist in past decades.

"And then of course, they're being recruited to go into other industries where they're being paid really well," she said, "so those are some of the things that we do see that we're experiencing. I characterize it as a national crisis."

If vacancies cannot be filled, the Houston Independent School District said more than 1,300 substitutes already have committed to supporting those positions this fall. Soares believes for people looking for supplemental income or more work-life balance and schedule flexibility, substitute teaching may be a good choice.