Education
When ‘universal’ pre-K really isn’t: Barriers to participating abound
When Tanya Gillespie-Lambert goes to an event in a local park in Camden, New Jersey, she takes a handful of brochures about free preschool with her. She has no hesitation about approaching strangers — moms with kids especially — to plug the service in the local public school district, where she’s director of community and […]
For child care workers, state aid for their own kids’ care is ‘life-changing’
SMITHFIELD, R.I. — Child care worker Marci Then, 32, looked over at two 4-year-olds in her care who were tussling over a toy plate in a model kitchen set. “Are we sharing?” she gently asked them. They both let go. Then works at Little Learners Academy child care center near Providence, Rhode Island. Her daughter, […]
Backlash against DEI spreads to more states
SALT LAKE CITY — Shortly after taking office in 2023, Republican state Rep. Katy Hall heard from constituents complaining about how their adult children were required to write diversity, equity and inclusion statements while applying for medical and dental schools and other graduate programs in Utah. “It doesn’t seem right,” Hall said. “It doesn’t seem […]
Universities try 3-year degrees to save students time, money
With college costs rising and some students and families questioning the return on investment of a four-year degree, a few pioneering state universities are exploring programs that would grant certain bachelor’s degrees in three years. The programs, which also are being tried at some private schools, would require 90 credits instead of the traditional 120 […]
Undergrads are unionizing, in a sign of labor’s resurgence
Junior psychology major Erin Green works part time at the children’s preschool at Sonoma State University, caring for university employees’ kids ages 1 to 5. Some of the non-student workers in her center belong to a union. But she didn’t, until just a few weeks ago. Green, a 46-year-old returning student who works 20 hours […]
‘Transformative’: More college programs are slowly coming into prisons
When the U.S. Department of Education announced last summer that federal Pell Grants would become available to incarcerated college students, lawmakers and state corrections agencies scrambled to adjust statutes and step up potential partnerships with universities. But nearly a year later, colleges and agencies are recognizing the steep administrative challenge to winning approval from the […]
More public colleges admit high schoolers even before they’ve applied
For some ninth graders near Fresno, California, the invitation — years before they’ll don a cap and gown — comes out of the blue: You’ve been accepted to Fresno State, the letter says. Public universities across the country increasingly are sending such acceptance letters even before students apply to college. In more than a third of […]
School voucher proponents spend big to overcome rural resistance
AUSTIN, Texas — In rural Texas, public schools are the cultural heart of small towns. People pack the high school stadium for Friday night football games, and FFA classes prepare the next generation for the agricultural life. In many places, more people work for the school district than for any other employer. For years, many […]
If schools won’t ban kids’ cellphones, some lawmakers say, they will
At David H. Hickman High School in Columbia, Missouri, the rule is that students must keep their cellphones out of sight during class. In reality, the teachers tasked with enforcing the rule are no match for teenagers’ “almost compulsive” need to be on their phones all the time, said science teacher Noelle Gilzow. Gilzow confiscates […]
Transparency bills seek to reveal the true costs of college
University students in Alaska kept asking Republican state Sen. Robert Myers why they were being blindsided with requirements to buy expensive textbooks after they signed up for classes, he said. Students complained to Myers that universities warned them about high tuition but not about the costs of textbooks, lab fees and equipment that also add up. Often, students sign up for […]
State universities admit more out-of-state students for the tuition bump
CORVALLIS, Ore. — Kennedy Cole, a college junior studying accounting, knew she wanted to attend school outside her native Nevada to expand her choices, meet new people and explore different places. Emma Nichols, a sophomore majoring in vocal performance, chose a school close to her home in Corvallis, Oregon. The two friends, Oregon State University […]
Drivers keep passing stopped school buses, despite use of cameras to catch them
In December, a mom on Long Island, New York, watched her young daughter get onto a school bus, then had to jump out of the way when a car came speeding past on the shoulder. That same month in Minnesota, a child leaving his school bus had to run to avoid being hit by a […]