skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, March 24, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Wildfires prompt evacuation in the Carolinas as New Jersey crews battle their own blaze; Iowa town halls find 'empty chairs'; California groups bring generations together to work on society's biggest problems; and Pennsylvania works to counter Trump clean energy rollbacks.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Lawmakers from both parties face angry constituents. Some decide to skip town halls rather than address concerned voters and Kentucky considers mandatory Medicaid work requirements.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Cuts to Medicaid and frozen funding for broadband are both likely to have a negative impact on rural healthcare, which is already struggling. Plus, lawsuits over the mass firing of federal workers have huge implications for public lands.

Community college program helps first-generation students, others

play audio
Play

Thursday, July 18, 2024   

Postsecondary enrollment data for 2023 shows community college enrollment increased nationwide by more than 100,000 students, and a large percentage of them were from lower-income neighborhoods.

Tonya DeWitt, director of TRIO programs at Western Nebraska Community College, said the number of their students who qualify for the federally funded program designed to help students with economic and other challenges has increased.

TRIO students must be a first-generation college student, have a household income not exceeding 150% of the federal poverty guideline or have a disability. Participants receive academic assistance, and DeWitt pointed out many benefit from the Growth Mindset program.

"Instead of, 'I can't do it,' 'Well, you can't do it right now, sure, but you can,'" DeWitt explained, as an example of thought exercises to help students build a positive mindset. "And all those negative, immediate, 'Oh well, no, I can't do nursing.' 'Well, why is that?' 'I just can't?' 'Well, that's not true, so let's get to the bottom of it. Let's see what it is that's keeping you from being able to be successful.'"

DeWitt noted the academic supports include in-person tutoring, 24/7 virtual tutoring, study guides and online programs assisting with writing and research. She added the nursing program is very popular with TRIO students but interest in the college's offerings in the trades is also growing.

DeWitt emphasized the ability to access tutoring any hour of the day or night, including holidays, is huge for some of their TRIO students.

"We make sure that our students who are on the road with sports can access it while on the road, while they're doing their homework on the bus," DeWitt observed. "We have the ones that are single parents. In the middle of the night, that's when they're doing their homework."

Roughly 10% of the school's TRIO students are single parents and eligible for their Single Parents in Network, or SPiN program. It helps them with personal, academic and career issues. They can also access a "necessities" pantry in addition to the college's food pantry.

"Detergent or cleaning supplies for the house to make sure that it's a clean place for their children. We offer diapers and baby stuff, and we give backpacks to their kids so they can go to school," DeWitt outlined. "We offer some educational supplies for all students, but also others for our SPiN participants."

The Institute for Women's Policy Research reported a large percentage of college students who are parents face "enormous barriers to academic success," many of them economic.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Past legislation, like the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act, has pushed Maryland toward its clean energy goals of 8.5 gigawatts of wind energy production in the next few years. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

As President Donald Trump rolls back clean energy initiatives at the federal level, states like Maryland are pushing ahead with their own energy …


Environment

play sound

Texas would be one of five states to suffer the most if the Trump administration repeals the Inflation Reduction Act, according to a report from the …

Environment

play sound

A local nonprofit with a mission to advance regenerative agriculture is hoping its new video can open up an untapped world of science to a younger aud…


An intergenerational dialogue held on Jan. 29 brought together participants from ages 8 to 82 to discuss important issues, post-election. (Ed Ritger)

Social Issues

play sound

In these divisive times, nonprofit groups are stepping up to boost civic engagement by facilitating intergenerational dialogue. The Creating …

Social Issues

play sound

By Angela Hart for KFF Health News.Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service reporting for the KFF Health News-Public News Servi…

Roughly 150 cities in 32 states have passed homelessness ordinances, according to the National Criminal Justice Association. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Next month, the city of Morgantown, West Virginia, will ask residents to vote on whether to keep or eliminate a city ordinance banning camping on …

Social Issues

play sound

Some 29 Arkansas Medal of Honor recipients will be recognized Tuesday as the National Medal of Honor Museum opens in Arlington, Texas. The museum is …

Social Issues

play sound

There are only 26 affordable housing units in Colorado for every 100 low-income households, according to a new report listing Colorado as the sixth …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021