A recent report looking at Black enrollment in the nation's colleges shows a stark downturn in recent years. The Lumina Foundation's Level Up report says that despite a steadily growing Black young adult population since 2000, over the last 20 years Black student enrolment in the nation's colleges has declined by around 600,000, and 300,000 of those are students lost from the community college system. The report illustrates the more frequent financial and life challenges faced by Black students, including their being more likely to be caregivers to children or parents versus other students. Black learners are also more likely to be managing full-time jobs while attending school.

Christine Davis, vice chancellor of student affairs at St. Louis Community College said outreach to prospective Black students should be in formed by these realities.

"I think for a lot of prospective students, the question is, 'Well, how can I do that? How can I be a college student, while I'm also working, while I also have a child or children? And so how can I manage all of the pieces of life?'", she said.

She added St. Louis Community College works to connect students with resources that can enable them to afford college and manage the other responsibilities they may have in their personal lives. St. Louis Community Colleges offers work-study programs that give students the opportunity to work on campus, an option many find more convenient than working elsewhere.

The 2021 Community College Survey of Student Engagement found that 29% of all students are food insecure, but 43% of Black respondents reported running out of food in the prior 30 days. Davis added all St. Louis Community College campuses have food pantries to help students with food insecurity over the short term, but the staff will also help students access community resources to stabilize things over the longer term.

"We can also talk with them about connecting them with services or agencies in the community," Davis said. "So, whereas we can help short term, we want to make sure we have staff in our offices that will help to connect them with existing resources in the community as well."

While 11% of all students are caregivers to either children or adult family members or friends, that number is 22% for Black students. Davis said St. Louis Community College has a child care center at one location and another in the planning stages at a second campus, and added the college can also help connect eligible students to federal grant money to cover the cost of off campus child care... efforts intended to make the campuses a welcoming place.


"We also want to create a community on our campuses where our students feel like they belong, so you know we want them to feel like they are important," she said. "And so all of the services, all of the engagement opportunities that we have on our campus, is so that they know that 'you belong here, we want you to stay. And if you run into an issue, come talk to us.' "


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Texas educators spent the summer in meetings and workshops devising a playbook for the upcoming Texas legislative session.

The Educator's Bill of Rights contains 10 issues based on feedback from K-12 and higher education employees.

Alejandro Pena, government affairs specialist for the American Federation of Teachers-Texas, said they are taking their concerns directly to lawmakers.

"Playing defense is not enough because you might prevent bad things from happening," Pena observed. "But things will never get better if positive change is not realized."

The top five issues educators are concerned about include reasonable working conditions, fair wages, secure retirement, quality child care and a healthy, safe and secure working environment.

Security tops of mind following this week's mass shooting at a Georgia high school. In a survey of educators last year gun violence prevention was the top priority among 11 community and social justice issues.

Pena noted House Bill 3, which requires an armed security guard to be on every school campus in the state, is considered by many educators as an unfunded mandate.

"The legislature only provided $15,000 per campus and a measly additional 28 cents per student for school districts to comply with this requirement," Pena pointed out. "Whereas it's been found that the cost of hiring an armed security guard can be anywhere from $80,000 to $100,000."

Last year, the state of Texas had a $33 billion budget surplus but funding for public education did not increase. The next legislative session starts Jan. 14.

Latinos make up 40% of California's population and more than 56% of K-12 public school students.

However, Latino high school graduation rates are low, prompting a national effort to encourage parental involvement. The Parent Institute for Quality Education is a nonprofit focused on social justice and equity-based approaches, empowering families to advocate for their children's success in education.

Elizabeth Cabrera, vice president of program and impact for the organization, said forging a strong bond between parents and the school is key.

"Data show that if families are involved, the chances of students graduating from high school going off to college are greater," Cabrera reported. "It needs to be a priority and we need to create action plans around it to make it happen. And it's not a 'nice to have,' it's a must-have to really be able to support the student all around."

As of 2020, 66% of Latinos in California had a high school diploma, compared with 95% of white residents. High school graduation rates and enrollment in higher education among Latino students have improved in recent years.

Cabrera pointed out her group leads workshops for parents around the state.

"We directly work with districts and school leaders to have us come into their schools, work with their families, to train them and teach them about everything from what the education system looks like," Cabrera outlined. "What's at the state level, at the county level, at the local level, and what can you do to get involved and ask the right questions. Also, things like better understanding the different assessments."

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the group a $5 million grant to establish a statewide Family Engagement Center.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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By Kody Fisher for WISH-TV.
Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the WISH-TV-Free Press Indiana-Public News Service Collaboration

Two student leaders at Purdue University want to change the Indiana Lifeline Law.

The law gives legal protection to anyone who calls 911 to get an underage drinker medical attention. However, it does not protect the person needing medical attention.

The students are trying to lobby lawmakers at the Statehouse in Indianapolis to expand the law to give legal protection for everyone involved in the situation, including the person who needs medical attention.

Purdue Student Body President Jason Packard said, “A lot of students don’t know about the protections that they have, and they don’t seek medical help.”

Purdue Student Body Vice President Rebecca Siener said, “Students do hesitate in these circumstances because they aren’t familiar with the policy, or the person in need of medical attention isn’t protected.”

Packard told I-Team 8 he used to be an resident assistant at a dorm on campus. In that roll he was responsible for calling 911 if one of the students in the dorm needed medical attention because of alcohol poisoning, “This is something we saw a lot within the dormitories. Within Tarkington Hall that I worked in, we probably had to call for an ambulance multiple times every single weekend out of the semester.”

In 2012 when the Lifeline Law was introduced, it initially had full legal protections for everyone involved in the situation. “Unfortunately, this does get negotiated down and it only protects the caller and those who assist the caller,” Siener said.

Now, Packard and Siener are trying to break the stigma around the law and it’s impact on underage drinking.

Seiner said, “I think often what people use as a counterargument to this is that it incentivizes, or it encourages, underage drinking, but several studies have shown that reported underage drinking has gone down since implementing the Indiana Lifeline Law.”

Packard and Siener also want to work with students at other universities in the state to put pressure on the Legislature to expand the law.


Kody Fisher wrote this article for WISH-TV.


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