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Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

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Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

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There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

Alabama Possible forges pathways to education equity with annual event

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Monday, March 25, 2024   

Alabama's goal of adding 500,000 more college-educated people to the workforce by 2025 is quickly approaching.

One group is dedicated to breaking down barriers to higher education and helping more people enter classrooms.

Chandra Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, said the group collaborating with national and local partners to assess the state of the workforce and identify obstacles that prevent individuals from pursuing or completing their degrees.

She said the goal is to level the playing field across the state.

"We want to make sure that we hear them and we understand what barriers that they're faced with," said Scott. "And if we can be their voice in the halls of the Capitol or with organizations who are leading that work and helping them to understand how to resource those individuals, then that's our role. "

She said this work will take place at the 2024 Virtual Alabama College Attainment Network Conference on April 10.

People looking to attend can find more information on their website - alabamapossible.org.

Scott said the annual conference is about more than identifying those barriers to college. She said Alabama Possible wants to create real change.

She pointed out that last year it was able to make progress on an issue impacting women looking to work later shifts.

"Child-care accessibility at those hours just did not exist," said Scott. "And so we began to elevate those type of conversations across our state. And now this year, all you've heard about is child-care subsidies, child-care credits, and being able to widen the playing field."

The state has already met 43% of Gov. Kay Ivey's goal, by adding more than 214,000 more skilled workers, according to the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness.



Disclosure: Alabama Possible contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Education, Poverty Issues, Youth Issues. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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