By Olivia Sanchez for The Hechinger Report.
Broadcast version by Terri Dee for Indiana News Service reporting for The Hechinger Report-Public News Service Collaboration

People who read college applications are a lot like detectives. Without having been there for the event (the student's K-12 education and life), they must find clues in documents (high school transcripts and student essays) and eyewitness accounts (letters of recommendation) to solve the case (decide whether a student might be able to thrive at the college).

But even with the extensive applications that each student submits, the detectives (college application readers) must do a lot of reading between the lines, said Tim Brunold, dean of admission at the University of Southern California.

The clues they have on how students spend their time outside of school are typically limited to a list of sports teams they've captained, clubs they joined, volunteer work they've done and awards they've won. But the application readers often lack key information on other responsibilities or life circumstances students may have, such as caring for siblings or sick family members, working part-time jobs to help pay family bills, or living in a home without a stable internet connection.

And those missing clues often mean a student's application doesn't get a fair shake. If a student is getting good grades in spite of being responsible for siblings from after school until bedtime, that could mean the student is even more academically talented than a peer with no such burdens.

In order to fill this gap, and signal to prospective students that these responsibilities matter, a set of 12 colleges participated in an experiment in which they asked every applicant to go through a list of extenuating home life circumstances or responsibilities and check off which ones they spend four hours or more per week doing.

"We want these kids to essentially get credit for these things that are taking a lot of skills and a lot of time, in the same way that kids who are doing traditional, school-based extracurricular activities are getting credit," said Trisha Ross Anderson, the college admission director of the Making Caring Common project at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, which helped develop the questions with Common App. (The idea was in development before the Supreme Court ruled that race could not be considered in admissions decisions.)

"We want to make it easier for students to report this information and talk about it. If students don't want to have to write their essay about this, for instance, they shouldn't have to."

In order to make it fast and simple for prospective students, and to prevent application readers from having to play detective as they try to figure out, "Is there something else going on with this kid?," they added this optional question to the Common App:

Sometimes academic records and extracurricular activities are impacted by family responsibilities or other circumstances. We would like to know about these responsibilities and circumstances. Your responses will not negatively impact your application. You may repeat some information you already provided in the Common App Activities section.

Please select which activities you spend 4 or more hours per week doing:

• Assisting family or household members with situations such as doctors' appointments, bank visits, or visa interviews


• Doing tasks for my family or household (cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.)


• Experiencing homelessness or another unstable living situation


• Interpreting or translating for family or household members


• Living in an environment without reliable or usable internet


• Living independently or living on my own (not including boarding school)


• Managing family or household finances, budget, or paying bills


• Providing transportation for family or household members


• Taking care of sick, disabled and/or elderly members of my family or household


• Taking care of younger family or household members


• Taking care of my own child or children


• Working at a paid job to contribute to my family or household's income


• Yard work/farm work


• Other (please describe)


• None of these

Across the 12 colleges, 66 percent of the students who applied to these colleges using the Common App checked at least one box, according to Karen Lopez, who manages this project at Common App. A quarter of the prospective students checked four or more boxes.


In the fall of 2022, these 12 colleges included the question in the Common App: Amherst College, Caltech, Cornell University, Harvey Mudd College, St. Olaf College, Transylvania University, University of Arizona, University of Dubuque, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Pennsylvania, University of Southern California and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.


In the fall of 2023, these 23 colleges added the question: Allegheny College, Amherst College, Bard College at Simon's Rock, Boston College, Caltech, College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, College of the Holy Cross, Cornell University, Earlham College, Elon University, George Washington University, Harvey Mudd, Haverford College, Immaculata University, Lafayette College, Maryland Institute College of Art, Nazareth University, Providence College, University of Pennsylvania, University of Richmond, University of Rochester, University of Southern California and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.


Ross Anderson said that the second-year data will begin being processed in the coming months. She said they also plan to look at how this question affected admissions and enrollments, but they won't be able to examine that until late summer. Lopez said these are among the factors that will help decide if this question should become a regular part of the Common App.


Brunold, from USC, said that the people who read college applications are trying to get a "360-degree view of this young person who's often baring their soul to you," without knowing them personally. Giving students the opportunity to share information about their lives in this way helps colleges make a more thorough assessment.


"For us, at a place that unfortunately doesn't have the capacity to admit anywhere near the number of students who want to come here, we take great care in this process," Brunold said.


Whitney Soule, vice provost and dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania, said that asking this question and capturing a wider view of students' lives can help level the playing field for applicants of different backgrounds.


"What we are trying to do is understand how a student is moving throughout their lives, what their commitment of time is and their responsibility is, and their awareness of themselves relative to other people," Soule said. "Because that's going to be incredibly important in our environment when they arrive on our campus, and they're living and learning within the community of our school."




Olivia Sanchez wrote this article for The Hechinger Report.


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Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference.

The Biden administration has canceled more than $62 billion in federal student debt for more than 871,000 public service workers nationwide, including teachers.

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke at the conference, thanking educators for their work for children's well-being. She told them the administration sees a "future with affordable health care, affordable child care, and paid leave - not for some, but for all."

"We see a future where every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive, and a future where no teacher has to struggle with the burden of student loan debt," she said. "So, as an example, our administration has forgiven student loan debt for nearly 5 million Americans."

She pointed out that federal student debt relief plans, including the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, face potential threats from legal challenges and some resistance from Republicans in Congress.

A Pennsylvania recipient of student loan forgiveness introduced Vice President Harris. Brittany Shoup, a member of Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Local 400, is a special-education teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Shoup said she had heard about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, but most people who applied for it didn't receive it during the last administration.

"The Biden/Harris administration fixed PSLF and made the process easy," she said. "So I applied and later had my student loans forgiven. This is a huge weight off my shoulders. And now, I help my fellow teachers get the debt forgiveness they deserve."

The AFT conference wrapped up Thursday in Houston, with more than 3,500 educators in attendance.


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As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding.

The future of North Carolina school funding may hinge on Leandro v. North Carolina a decadeslong court battle about the financial challenges many districts face.

Matthew Ellinwood, director of the Education and Law Project at the North Carolina Justice Center, stressed the crucial role of state funding in ensuring a quality education for every child.

"We're waiting to see what the decision will be for that but there's a lot at stake for families who are feeling these lack of resources in their schools locally," Ellinwood observed. "People need to understand the huge role that the state plays in funding our schools locally, because of what our Constitution said and the rights that it provides to families."

In recent years, the court developed the Leandro Plan, a comprehensive strategy to ensure the state meets students' constitutional rights to education, from early childhood education to college and career transitions. Earlier this year, the state court reheard the case, which could determine the state's obligations but there has been no ruling yet.

North Carolina ranks 49th in the U.S. for school funding, with 92% of students in underfunded districts. Ellinwood noted the Leandro Plan aims to bridge these gaps.

"To deal with the shortages that we're seeing in teachers across the state and the number of teachers who are leaving the profession," Ellinwood explained. "And get back the nationally recommended ratios for nurses, counselors and therapists. It's something that a lot of families are seeing are not in place in their school for their health and mental health needs."

Ellinwood predicted the plan would also help address the child care crisis in the state. He explained rising costs and the end of federal pandemic funds have worsened challenges for child care centers and schools, leading to closures.

"I think the state is doing some kind of Band-Aid to try to keep the system going but we really need a significant investment there and that is laid out in the Leandro Plan," Ellinwood emphasized. "In a really, again, comprehensive way, we need funding through different wages for the quality measures, to ensure that those are met and continue to be high quality."

State lawmakers have approved a $68 million emergency fund for child care. Despite it, the state Department of Health and Human Services warned of more closures this fall without more support.


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Some Illinois educators made their way to Texas this week for an American Federation of Teachers convention. AFT is one of the nation's largest labor unions for educators and school personnel, with nearly two-million members - including more than 100,000 in Illinois.

The organization promotes democracy, economic opportunity and quality public education. Earlier this week, AFT President Randi Weingarten spoke to attendees in Houston on the impact of public schools in Illinois and nationwide.

"Public schools are essential to our children's future and to our democracy. Every public school should be a place where families want to send their children, educators want to work, and all students thrive," said Weingarten.

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to give today's keynote speech at the convention.

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery echoes the union's reaction to President Joe Biden's announcement not to seek re-election. He expressed his gratitude for what he called Biden's "unwavering dedication" to the American people, including investments in public education.

The IFT also supports some issues unrelated to education. These include defending reproductive health and improving healthcare access, and fostering an economy that uplifts the middle class. Another battle many educators face is evolving technology aimed at youth. Weingarten called on social media giants to operate more responsibly.

"We're fighting back against the addictive and predatory practices of social media companies, demanding that they protect - not prey on - children, and we're focusing on artificial intelligence. AI can be a powerful tool, but there must be strong guardrails," she said.

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, there are 867 districts and nearly 3,900 public schools in the state, with an 88% graduation rate. The average annual teacher salary is $75,000.

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