August 12: Education News We're Reading This Week
August 12, 2016 – Here’s our weekly roundup of education news you may have missed. Summer enrichment programs and empathy from teachers can help low-income students succeed academically. Other popular pieces question if higher education is doing enough to support low-income students.
Elementary & Secondary Education:
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“Students lose one month of learning during each summer vacation, which can take a hefty toll on test scores and academic performance,” writes The Hechinger Report. “This reality hits youth living in low-income communities the hardest,” due to the high cost of summer camps and activities.
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In searching for solutions to the impact of poverty in education, Education Dive recommends that “teachers should have way more empathy before judging students’ ability and work to avoid judging students altogether.”
Higher Education:
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The Chronicle of Higher Education asks: “Are the wealthiest colleges educating enough low-income students?”
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“Both private and public colleges with some of the highest graduation rates admit the fewest number of students eligible for Pell grants,” says The Washington Post in its summary of a new report. “Yet some schools that graduate more than three quarters of their students, like the majority of those within the University of California system, take in a high percentage of Pell students, proving that students with few resources stand a good chance of succeeding with the right support.”
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The FAFSA now allows students to file earlier by providing prior-prior year family income data, but advocates raised concerns that colleges would establish their own earlier deadlines. Inside Higher Ed reports that Undersecretary of Education Ted Mitchell “released a letter this week asking institutions not to move any priority financial aid deadlines up from those used in previous years.”
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NPR speaks with two undocumented students headed to college to understand the challenges ahead for both of their families.
Cooke Foundation Highlights:
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Cooke Scholar Monirath Siv is the founder of Teach for Cambodia. In an interview with Impact Hub, Monirath shares some of the challenges along the way and plans to grow the program’s impact.
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In a piece for Odyssey, Cooke Scholar Audrey Ngo discusses the importance of providing resources for talented, low-income students to attend top colleges and universities.
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From the Top catches up with violinist Kenneth Renshaw, winner of the 2008 Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award.