EdTrust in the News November 2023
November 2023
P12
Science Club for Girls unlocks STEM possibilities for young students, The Bay State Banner, 11/30/23
“If we are systematically denying students of color, students from low-income backgrounds [and] girls access to those programs, then that means that the future workforce that we’re creating [and] … preparing students for will also similarly deny those students … the opportunities to participate in the same fulfilling ways as their as their peers.”- Director of P-12 Ivy Morgan.
Poll finds gap in parental expectations about college, Daily Hampshire Gazette (also featured in 2 other outlets), 11/27/23
“Closing these gaps will require a thorough analysis of our present system to identify the barriers families face, coupled with policies and practices that ensure all students and their families have equitable access,” Williamson said. The new Education Trust poll also shows disparities in resources parents have to offer their children when it comes to college applications.
Poll: Massachusetts parents report stark disparities in post-secondary planning knowledge across race and income, The Boston Herald (also featured in 4 other outlets), 11/19/23
“As state policymakers work to expand and improve postsecondary pathways for students, we must acknowledge and address the fact that there remain significant gaps in parental expectations and awareness of these pathways, especially among parents who identify as Latino/a/x and low-income,” said Jennie Williamson, director of The Education Trust in Massachusetts.
First Civil Rights Data Since COVID Reveals Racial Divide in Advanced Classes, The 74, 11/15/23
This data was especially impacted by remote learning, noted Nancy Duchesneau, a senior P-12 research associate at EdTrust, an advocacy organization that focuses on educational equity. “Exclusionary discipline looked very different during virtual learning,” she said. “Students were locked out of accounts, or removed from virtual learning environments, without official suspensions or expulsions. These instances of unofficial exclusionary discipline will not be reflected in the data.”
Poll finds gap in parental expectations about college, WWLP, 11/16/23
“As state policymakers work to expand and improve postsecondary pathways for students, we must acknowledge and address the fact that there remain significant gaps in parental expectations and awareness of these pathways, especially among parents who identify as Latino/a/x and low-income,” said Jennie Williamson, state director of The Education Trust in Massachusetts.
Panel: Erasing Black History Threatens to Harm Black Community, Students, and Nation’s Future, Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 11/14/23
America is a nation that will always be a work-in-progress, said panelist Augustus Mays, vice president of partnerships and engagement at The Education Trust. Accurate education can help create citizens dedicated to progress and the country’s future. But by depriving students of all races the chance to learn about and grapple with the challenges America has persisted through, it hinders their development into critically thinking, inclusive, and engaged Americans, Mays said.
Even equal education funding is not enough, Washington Post, 11/14/23
No one is arguing that progress hasn’t been made, but to suggest that funding gaps are practically gone simply defies what the data shows. The Education Trust’s research finds that high-poverty districts receive about $800 less per student annually than wealthier districts, and districts serving the most students of color receive about $2,700 less per student than those that serve the fewest.
Charter Territory: State Overreach Is Shaping the Education Landscape, Nashville Scene, 11/10/23
MNPS schools have been accused of engaging in these practices. “There are MNPS schools that push kids out,” Gini Pupo-Walker, former MNPS board member and executive director of the Education Trust in Tennessee, recently told the Scene. “It’s not just charters that do it.”
Tennessee’s first A-F letter grades for schools will stress proficiency, Chalkbeat TN, 11/02/23
But Gini Pupo-Walker, director of the Education Trust in Tennessee, is hopeful the grades will somehow be tied to extra resources to help struggling schools. “We look forward to learning more about how the state plans to support schools that receive D’s and F’s,” she said, “and ensure schools are paying attention to the success of all students.”
Higher Education
Millions could benefit from a new way out of student loan default, NPR (also featured in 11 other outlets), 11/21/23
“Black borrowers in particular have extremely high default rates because they have fewer financial resources to pay for college,” says Victoria Jackson, with The Education Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for equity in education.
4 Groups Advocating Equitable School Funding, Word in Black (also featured in 4 other outlets), 11/22/23
When it comes to advocating for access, equity, and quality education for all students, The Education Trust is a need-to-know mention. Broken up into four regions — The Education Trust Midwest, The Education Trust New York, The Education Trust West, and The Education Trust Tennessee — the nonprofit is committed to “advancing policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers” that plague the education system.
Reinstating Pell Grants in Prisons Moves Slowly After 26-Year Ban, Inside Higher Ed, 11/17/23
“I’m a first gen everything. I was an heir to illiteracy,” he said. Now he’s “breadwinner” in his family and owns a home. He advises federal policymakers on how to improve higher ed offerings for students like him and “folks want to hear from me.” A degree “gave me options that were not options,” Freeman said. “It’s given me choices and it shifted my children’s life … and all of this is from the transformative power and possibility of higher education.”
Defaulted student loan borrowers get a fresh start, KCLU, 11/16/23
VICTORIA JACKSON: So, once you default, that’s sent to the credit reporting agencies. Your credit is ruined.
TURNER: Victoria Jackson studies higher ed policy at the Education Trust.
JACKSON: They then have difficulty buying a car or renting an apartment.
Report: PWIs Can Do More to Support Students of Color, Inside Higher Ed, 11/10/2023
The researchers found students believe there is an underrepresentation of students of color and faculty on campus and limited support for students of color in general and regarding mental health. Students also shared that they were unaware of campus policies or procedures about how to report racial or ethnic discrimination.