Connecticut groups said education is a top priority in the 2024 election.

Vice President Kamala Harris is vowing to continue and expand on Biden administration programs. Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump has called for cutting federal funding to schools teaching Critical Race Theory, vetoing civics education, and removing what he called "radicals" working in the federal Department of Education.

Amy Dowell, executive director of Education Reform Now CT, said there are some education priorities the next president must address.

"A pushback on the extreme Project 2025 agenda of privatizing public education, of the rise of vouchers, and of the threats it could put on the civil rights protections of students," Dowell outlined.

She added post-pandemic recovery also needs to be a priority. Chronic absenteeism and learning loss are still prevalent. While the previous school year's rate of chronic absenteeism fell in Connecticut, it is still much higher than pre-pandemic numbers. Among public school students nationwide, 26% were chronically absent in 2023, up from 15% pre-pandemic.

A major concern for public education is Project 2025, a layout of policy initiatives for a second Trump administration. Some of its policy plans call for ending Title I investments in schools, disbanding the U.S. Department of Education and terminating school nutrition programs.

Dowell argued it is a regressive plan for American education.

"We are particularly concerned about how they would impact students and educators, silencing educators, and a return to decades past and how we see public education," Dowell explained.

Beyond public education, Dowell noted the next president will also have to focus on higher education initiatives. Canceling student loan debt is a big part of President Joe Biden's agenda, which Harris has said she will continue.

Dowell argued there are some education issues Harris can take on, Biden did not.

"We want to make sure that access continues to be available to students who are first-generation college students," Dowell noted. "We'd love to see the end of legacy admissions in Connecticut and nationally. Legacy admissions overwhelmingly benefit whiter students, higher-income students."


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Colorado has not yet recovered from the pandemic when it comes to fully staffing its public schools.

This past school year, districts faced a shortage of nearly 7,000 teachers, about 12% of the workforce needed.

Margarita Tovar, chief talent officer for the Colorado Department of Education, said a successful program is helping to increase the number of teachers in parts of the state facing the biggest shortfalls by removing cost as a barrier from entering the profession.

"The Colorado Department of Education is inviting aspiring educators who are interested in teaching in a shortage area, and who can commit to working in that area for three years to apply for up to $10,000," Tovar explained.

Educator recruitment and retention stipends are meant to help cover educator preparation program fees. Applicants must be enrolled in a Colorado-approved traditional or alternative educator preparation program, or be enrolled in a Career and Technical Education credential program. Other qualifications and applications can be found online at cde.state.co.us. The deadline for applying is Sept. 30.

When the program launched in 2021, 80 educators got stipends and agreed to work specifically in rural school districts. After lawmakers expanded the program to include the entire state in 2022, 749 educators got stipends. Tovar pointed out low wages remain one of the biggest challenges for attracting new teachers. And with schools now caught up in the nation's culture wars, the profession is not always seen in a positive light.

"Politically, nationwide we are facing challenges with folks attacking public education," Tovar observed. "That certainly hurts us when we talk about recruitment and retention."

Nearly 25% of educators who got stipends in 2022 were educators of color, which is in sync with the state's demographics. Overall, just 16% of the state's teachers are people of color.

Tovar cited a number of benefits when educators look and sound like their students.

"When we have a teaching body that mirrors the student demographics that we have in our state, academic rates go up, attendance rates go up and discipline infractions lower," Tovar outlined.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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A summer program at Arizona State University is introducing children of migrant families to the opportunities of a college education.

The Migratory Student Summer Academy is an enrichment program for the high school-aged children of Arizona's seasonal farmworkers. The program focuses on leadership and instruction in science, technology, engineering and math, fields collectively known as "STEM."

Gilberto Lopez, assistant professor of transborder studies at Arizona State University and co-director of the program, said they host 80 teens for leadership workshops, hands-on classroom instruction and sociocultural enrichment in a camp setting.

"This is a group that has been historically at the margins in education," Lopez explained. "They either move around through the harvest season, so they don't have this continuity of education, so they fall through the crack in the education system."

Lopez noted the program has special meaning to him, growing up as the son of a farmworker. During their week on campus, students are introduced to STEM subjects in the university's labs. He pointed out they also receive instruction on how to navigate college entrance requirements.

Lopez emphasized it is important for the students to meet people like themselves who have succeeded in the STEM fields and in life. This year's speaker was former NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, who grew up in a migrant farming family from Mexico and spent much of his childhood picking fruit.

"Jose Hernandez came this year. So, we have a closing ceremony where we have the awards and all that," Lopez recounted. "We try to bring in a guest speaker who 'made it.'"

Lopez, a Harvard-educated professor, added he is gratified, four years in, the program is beginning to see positive results from its work.

"We started to see the results of this program," Lopez observed. "These kids are starting to come in, starting to apply to college. I don't have the numbers of what percentage go on to college but we are starting to see them here at ASU."


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Young people are increasingly falling into debt through "Buy Now, Pay Later" apps and cash advance phone offers, much as with payday loans before them.

In response, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Durham and Orange Counties in North Carolina is stepping in to help.

Jerome Levisy, CEO of the organization, said its Money Matters program covers essential personal financial topics to prepare youths to take on their finances responsibly.

"They can learn the difference between savings, mutual funds, checking accounts and how that builds a stable financial portfolio," Levisy outlined. "We want our youths to head off into their adulthood on being successful, having no debt."

The Money Matters program is funded in part by grants from the Coastal Credit Union Foundation and covers everything from budgeting and credit to investments. Levisy noted it has already helped 60 students and will expand to include 30 more in September.

Research shows 69% of parents are reluctant to discuss money with their children and only 23% of kids frequently talk about money with their parents. Levisy highlighted the program's benefits extend beyond students to their families as well.

"One student actually helped their parents understand that it's better to get a car loan from a dealership versus the car loan from the dealerships on the side of the road where it's buy here, pay here," Levisy pointed out. "Because they talked to them about interest rates and they talked to them about the flexibility when payments are late."

Levisy emphasized such examples showcase the importance of financial literacy classes for young people. His hope is to continue developing the program to provide students with literacy skills leading to workplace readiness and lifelong financial stability.


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