WASHINGTON, D.C. (JUNE 7, 2021) — Education Reform Now National President Shavar Jeffries released the following statement on today’s deadline for states to submit plans for how they will use their COVID-relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to support student achievement:

“When the US. Department of Education begins to review states’ plans for how they intend to allocate their remaining American Rescue Plan funding after plans are submitted by the June 7th deadline, we urge the Department to keep equity top of mind.

The American Rescue Plan Act’s historic investment of $122 billion in K-12 education provides states with the opportunity to target significant resources to the students most impacted by the pandemic and those who have historically been underserved by our public school system. We cannot squander this opportunity.

To best serve students, state plans must detail how they will:

We understand that some of these processes may delay finalization of some aspects of state plans past the June 7th deadline. Nonetheless, we need states, sooner rather than later, to be as specific as possible as to what they intend to do to address unfinished learning and social and emotional health for this summer and for the first few months of the 2021-22 school year.

We hope the Department will be stringent in upholding critical equity guardrails to ensure that all of our students not only have the academic, social, and emotional supports necessary to recover from the pandemic, but to excel in school and in life.”

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By Nicholas Munyan-Penney

Ever since schools first started moving to remote learning in March of last year, the goal has always been the same: reopen school buildings and get students back in classrooms. But as we get increasingly closer to that goal—over 90% of schools are now offering in-person learning for students—there have been rumblings that, at least for some, remote learning could be here to stay.

A recent RAND study finds that 20% of surveyed districts plan to have fully virtual schooling options available for students next year. And parent surveys indicate continued support for remote learning options.

In theory, this sounds great. Providing educational opportunities that best fit students’ needs is what educators are constantly striving towards. But are students in online schools actually learning?

Prior to the pandemic, fully-virtual schools, while serving only a small portion of American students, were already experiencing exponential growth: in 2020, full-time virtual schools served over 330,000 students, about triple the number of students just ten years prior. Yet despite this growth, the research examining these schools is definitive: virtual schools consistently result in substantially weaker student academic performance.

CREDO—the gold standard for charter school studies—found that students in virtual charter schools had significantly less academic growth than similar peers in district schools: the equivalent of 72 days less growth in reading and 180 days less—an entire school year—in math. A study from the Annenberg Center at Brown University last year found negative impacts of 1-2 years on learning not only in math and reading, but also in science and social studies for students who attended full-time virtual schools in Georgia. The findings of these reports are consistent with similar studies.

State accountability systems also reflect the weak performance of virtual schools. The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) found that in the 2019-20 school year more than half (57.2%) of virtual schools received failing grades. And graduations rates in virtual schools (54.6%) fall substantially below the national average (85%).

These results aren’t surprising. Educators, families, and policymakers have continually bemoaned the difficulties related to online learning while pushing for schools to reopen, and charter supporters and opponents alike have long cited the worrying results of virtual charter schools. Yet these past results don’t necessarily predict the future of online schools.

First, the virtual school landscape represented in the research is dominated by for-profit charters. While there is little research distinguishing outcomes in for-profit charters from district run virtual schools, the NEPC study mentioned above found that district virtual schools fared slightly better on state accountability measures, with 49.3% receiving failing ratings, suggesting districts do marginally better at providing a quality online learning environment. Moreover, there is at least some evidence, from Europe, that online instruction can boost student achievement.  Given that districts are the ones planning for continued virtual options, we could see results that are at least a little better than the overall virtual school sector prior to the pandemic.

Second, educators and students writ large have gained significant experience with online learning over the past year. Many districts have invested heavily in new technology, to both strengthen online curriculum and make platforms more accessible for all students, and professional development has been provided to help educators better engage students in the online classroom environment.

Finally, it’s possible that the student population that attend this new generation of post-pandemic virtual schools may differ from those traditionally served by virtual schools in important ways. Given the universal exposure to remote options this past year, new remote schools could serve a diverse group of students and families who have found remote schooling to better fit their needs, including allowing students to have part-time jobs, taking care of family members, or avoiding the distractions, disruptions, or bullying that can come along with learning in person. If this is the case, we could potentially see vastly different results for virtual schools than years past.

Yet given the dismal results of virtual schools prior to the pandemic, we should view the continuation of distance education with skepticism. Moving forward, states and districts must diligently monitor the results of post-COVID distance learning. Any academic or opportunity to learn (attendance, access to advance course work, student to teacher ratio, etc.) data should be reported separately for virtual students and disaggregated by student subgroups to ensure students are not systematically being held to lower standards and receiving inequitable access to resources.

And we need to identify the characteristics of successful online programs to inform best practices and spur continuous improvement. Current research examining the instructional models, curricula, and types of student supports within virtual schools is limited, so a better understanding of how students are engaging with educators and instructional content—in conjunction with strong academic data—will be key for ensuring students have access to high-quality, rigorous instruction. To aid in this process, states and districts should be monitoring new and different types of data than those used to measure access to opportunity to learn in traditional classrooms, including the amount of synchronous instruction (live interaction between students and teachers) occurring each week, how long students are engaging with digital content, and work completion.

We must continue working to improve remote learning, but we should also hold virtual schools accountable and not hesitate to pull the plug if they fail to produce strong results. After more than a year of disrupted learning, our students—even those who opt into virtual schools—cannot afford any more missed opportunities to learn.

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Nicholas Munyan-Penney is the Senior Policy Analyst for K-12 Policy at Education Reform Now, where he writes on a range of topics including resource equity, standards and accountability, public school choice, and teacher preparation. Prior to ERN, Nicholas worked as a high school English Language Arts teacher in New Hampshire, in both charter and traditional public schools. 

The recent passage of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is infusing America’s K12 public schools with unprecedented, desperately needed relief funds to aid in the academic recovery of students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $122 billion allocated to K12 public schools represents over seven times current annual Title I funding. As a part of these relief dollars, Congress has required that states and districts designate 5% and 20%, respectively, to specifically addressing learning loss, totaling $28 billion. This funding gives education leaders across the country the opportunity to make significant investments in evidence-based programs.


We pose four recommendations—that each have a strong evidence base for improving students’ academic, social, and emotional outcomes—for usage of ARPA funds for states to consider.
High-Impact Tutoring

High-impact tutoring programs show clear, positive results, particularly for the lowest-achieving students. Students participating in these programs have gained an additional one to two years of math and an additional year of learning in English language arts—on top of what they learned in the classroom—compared to nonparticipants. In a recent meta-analysis of 14 types of educational interventions, high-impact tutoring was found to be the most effective at improving student achievement.

Summer Enrichment Programs

Extending the length of the school day could be a critical way to increase instructional time for students in an effort to make up for lost instruction as a result of COVID-related school closures. Extending the school day should be paired with a specific academic intervention, such as the additional literacy instruction or high-dosage tutoring.

Extended School Days

After many students have been out of school buildings for over a year, this summer will be crucial to provide an opportunity to allow students. Given that students of color, students from low-income families, student with disabilities, and English learners were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and school closures, summer programming will also be critical to getting these students prepared to access grade-level content next school year.

Community Based Learning Hubs

Over the course of the pandemic as students and their families were struggling with the realities of remote learning, community- and faith-based organizations around the country stepped up to fill in the gaps. These organizations created learning hubs that provide access to basic needs, academic support, and enrichment activities.

For further information and more in-depth details on our recommendations and implementation, please click here.

New York, New York (February 25, 2021) – Today, Leaders of Color (LOC) announced the second-ever roster of fellows for its New York chapter.

LOC New York proudly welcomes into the program Cristina M. Arroyo Rodriguez, Morgan Bass Roper, Kisha Chandler, Maria Del Valle, Sean Farrow, Soribel Genao, Althema Goodson, Fayth Henderson, Esmeralda Herrera, Ohilda Holguin, Erica Johnson, Trenee Chimere Lurry, Myriah Martin, Kimberly McCoy, Leslie Maxine Mercado, Jordan Pineda, Stephanay Slade-Louis, Ashley Raquel Gómez, Christian Vargas, and Davonte Williams

“We are so pleased to have such high-caliber and compassionate individuals who are pledging themselves to the Leaders of Color program,” said Leaders of Color New York Director Dr. Damary Bonilla-Rodriguez. “These 20 people have between them not only a rich and diverse pool of experience, but they each also have a deep commitment to bettering their communities for the sake of every resident within them. I cannot wait to see what these talented and thoughtful trainees will do in the future, and I have every confidence that they all will go on to positively change it.”

About the Cohort

Cristina M. Arroyo Rodriguez was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She moved to Boston, MA to earn her BA in English and Psychology and then her MA in Psycholinguistics. She then moved to New York to work as an editor until she decided to pursue Industrial and Organizational Psychology at CUNY. With two toddlers in tow, she completed her MS in Organizational Justice and five years of her PhD in the same topic. Since then, she has dabbled in local Valley Stream politics, consults for non-profits, as well as founded the Valley Stream Justice Project, Ltd. She has worked with local and state school districts, PTA groups, non-profits, and government to enact sustainable systemic change by advocating for fair hiring practices, organizational transparency, and formation of DEI committees for oversight.

Morgan Bass Roper is the Special Events Lead at Democrats for Education Reform. She plans and executes events to support the organization’s fundraising, community outreach and internal team development efforts and co-leads the organization’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion efforts, working to implement policies and practices that promote a workplace culture of inclusivity and interdependence. Prior to joining DFER, Morgan worked as a Foundation Manager for Madison Square Garden’s Garden of Dreams Foundation, where she ideated, developed and produced community and youth-oriented events for the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and New York Liberty. Though Morgan is a Los Angeles native, she achieved “official” New Yorker status as she marked 10 years of New York residence in summer 2020. She holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kisha Chandler is the Operations Project Manager in the School of Business at Molloy College, her place of employment for 15 years. In her primary role, she oversees the daily operation of the office including developing and managing the department’s budget. Before joining Molloy College, Kisha held a number of administrative positions in the corporate and non-profit sectors. She has also worked as a science, social studies, and essay writing instructor for students in grades 4-12. Kisha received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Queens College, her Master of Science in Childhood Education, and a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in management both from Molloy College. She is also a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM).

Maria Del Valle is an activist, mother, musician, teacher, consultant, and social entrepreneur. Maria is originally from Puerto Rico, and based in New York City and she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from the University of Florida, and Master’s Degree in Childhood Education from Brooklyn College. Maria has 10 years of teaching experience founding music programs in international schools, charter schools, and El Sistema Programs throughout New York City and abroad. She is the Founder of Project Shine International, an arts consulting and international exchange program, and Shine on Kids Arts Initiative, a community-based arts program for children and families based in Uptown Manhattan. In 2020, Maria was named a quarter finalist by the RECORDING ACADEMY© and THE GRAMMY FOUNDATION© Music Educator Award and am a winner of the Excellence in Teaching Award.

Sean Farrow is a public defender in Manhattan with the Legal Aid Society where he has, for the past four years, researched and drafted various legal documents, such as motions, briefs, and subpoenas on a near daily basis, analyzed case-law for misdemeanor and felony criminal cases while advocating for hundreds of clients on the record and litigated dozens of Pre-trial hearings and Trials. A New Jersey native, Sean has turned New York into his home, specifically Harlem where he volunteers within the community doing free legal clinics and educational workshops as well as tutor first generation students in English.

Soribel Genao is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Provost Diversity Fellow at CUNY Queens College. Her research has focused on examining the inclusive, equitable and diverse systemic issues in and reform of urban schools while assessing administrative, educational, and community collaborations that facilitate more positive academic and behavioral outcomes such as student retention in marginalized communities. She has institutionally led the development of a dual master’s and certificate in Educational Leadership with an emphasis on Bilingual Education programs at the P-20 level at Queens College. Her national and international work focused on intersectionality that amplifies the ways identities interconnect to influence each person’s diverse experiences. Soribel also co-edited a book (Re)Building Bi/Multilingual Leaders for Socially Just Communities, which has been noted in TC Records Review and used across the nation as a course text.

Althema Goodson, MSOL, is currently serving her first three-year term as an Elected Trustee of the Ossining Public Library, Co-Chair of the Equity Task Force in Ossining, Co-Chair of the Landlord Tenant Relationship Council and utilizing her many talents and passions by sitting on advisory boards, Althema has worked in non-profit consulting, engineering administration, as a Director at the Westchester County Bar Association, in banking, and, currently, works in contact tracing for COVID-19. Althema also started her own consulting company, The Goodson Agency, which is currently helping business owners with creative strategies and development. She also co-founded the Juneteenth Council, which brings awareness to Juneteenth, and promotes social justice, civil rights, and more. After earning her master’s degree in 2008, inspired by a personal encounter with health challenges, Althema decided to focus on advocacy and, in particular, health disparities while also bringing awareness to invisible warriors.

Fayth Henderson serves as the Director of Strategic Alliance and Collaborative Partnerships for the 67th Precinct Clergy Council also known as the GodSquad. which is a group of clergy from across the East Flatbush/Flatbush area of Brooklyn whose sole purpose is to reduce gun violence in the community. Fayth’s role is creating unique partnerships that align with the mission and vision of the organization within the community. Fayth also works at the Office of the NYC Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams and serves and assists in organizing faith leaders and the faith community across NYC.

Esmeralda Herrera was born and raised in the Bronx and is an ecosystem builder who works at the intersection of business and social impact to support local entrepreneurs. As Director of Programs and Community Relations at Communitas America, Esmeralda manages an accelerator in the Bronx that works directly with founders—primarily women and entrepreneurs of color—to help build, launch, and expand social ventures that reach vulnerable communities. Esmeralda Herrera is driven by innovative approaches to creating impact. She is passionate about equity and social justice to ensure vulnerable communities have opportunities to flourish. Previously she worked with international organizations in India and China that empower local change makers to revitalize their local economy.

Ohilda Holguin is an education consultant and professional development trainer, author, keynote speaker, and wellness coach. Ohilda worked in the field of fighting domestic violence for over 15 years, managed after-school programs, and taught middle school reading before entering the world of educational publishing and technology for the last twelve years. Currently, she is a Breathe for Change trainee where she is studying to be certified in yoga and social emotional learning and is in a mindfulness training program at Mindful Schools. Ohilda is also working on her Health Coach Certification at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She develops powerful leadership trainings, health & wellness coaching programs and consultations.

Erica Johnson has been serving the public since she was 8 years old, when she started handing out home cooked meals to local homeless people in her neighborhood. While she has worked in a variety of fields with include corporate, government, and non-profit organizations, she always finds a way to bring social justice and cultural perspectives to all her roles. When weather threatened the lives of Puerto Ricans, she created the Hurricane Maria Supply Drive to bring much-needed supplies to people on the island. Ten years ago, when civil and social unrest erupted across the country, she became a Legal Observer with the National Lawyers Guild to help protect people’s first amendment rights. Now, she is grateful to join the Leaders of Color to help advocate for not just better education but also access to education.

Trenee Chimere Lurry has been an educator in the field of special education for eight years. Trenee’s desire for greater was fueled by the understanding that representation matters, and as an African-American female there is a need for her to be a leader. As she embarked on this journey into leadership, it revealed her passion for diversity equity and inclusion. This was discovered through her studies of cultural competence and culturally relevant pedagogy. Trenee will graduate with her Master’s Degree in Education and her principal certification in May 2021. While completing her Master’s degree she formed the school district’s DEI committee, where Trenee holds an executive position.

Myriah Martin is from Brooklyn, and is a Temple University graduate with a Bachelors of Arts in African American Studies/Africology. While at Temple University, she was the Black Student Union President and the Student Ambassador for the Department of African American Studies at the National Council of Black Studies Conference. She presented her graduate proposal, “Urban Holism: Radical Reformation on Urban Policy Pedagogies” which highlighted her passion for public policy reform focused on arts, education and sustainable growth within Black urban communities. She is currently a teacher in the New York Department of Education and is pursuing her master’s degree in Liberal arts with a concentration in Cultural Anthropology at SUNY Empire State College.

Kimberly McCoy is an attorney, special educator, and parent of a child with autism. She brings over 10 years of experience in special education, ranging from early childhood evaluator and home-based ABA instructor to Special Education teacher and administrator. She attended City College for her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Special Education and earned her J.D. at Seton Hall University School of Law.

Leslie Maxine Mercado is a Puerto Rican raised in the Bronx, and has held titles as a Field Manager/Canvasser representing candidates and motivating people to vote. Leslie was brought up in the public school system in the Bronx; she also went to Rye High School and graduated with honors in Yonkers, Greenburgh-North Castle. Leslie then attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and Hostos College in the Bronx. Leslie speaks with people in her community in order to strengthen their abilities to help bring changes to the Bronx. She knows that by working together we can affect positive change in communities that will work towards a better quality of life for all residents.

Jordan Pineda started his career teaching high school English for three years in Title I schools before entering education management. In his time outside of the classroom he has recruited teachers of color and also spent time as an equity coach for first year teachers. Jordan has since transitioned into policy and works with states and localities across the country identifying, aligning, and scaling equity centric policies that impact young people of color. Jordan was the youngest candidate and first Latino to ever run the Board of Education in Charlotte, North Carolina and he has played an active role in generating grassroots support for equitable school reform in segregated schools. He proudly serves on the board of multiple nonprofits dedicated to education reform and elevating youth voice. Slated to earn his M.Ed from Harvard University this fall, Jordan is researching progressive policy reforms for racially isolated schools and students of color. Jordan earned his B.A. in Sociology and concentrated in education equity at Wake Forest University.

Stephanay Slade-Louis is applying to a master’s programs with a focus in International Relations. She has studied at The New School in New York, majoring in Theater and minoring in Political Science. Born and raised in New York, Stephanay is passionate about pushing culture forward through conversations and different mediums of art.

Ashley Raquel Gómez was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Ashley is a recent graduate from Brooklyn College, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, with a minor in Political Science. Ashley’s goal is to become more involved in her community and create a change for her younger peers, by advocating for resources in schools and poverty-stricken neighborhoods.

Cristian Vargas is from Brooklyn, New York. He is a Boston University senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Cristian is a writer, photographer, and idea creator. Since the beginning of quarantine, he has been writing a novel about contemporary life in New York City. He is really passionate about the arts and thinks it’s important to advocate for equitable arts programs in all schools.

Davonte Williams was born in Denver to a single mother with an 8th grade education and has experienced the many pitfalls a lack of education entails throughout his life. Davonte graduated Magna Cum Laude at Berkeley College with a degree in Business Administration and has recently been hired to the operations team at Classical Charter School II in the South Bronx where he hopes to discern, firsthand, the educational needs of that grossly underserved community. Davonte also supports local black owned businesses throughout New York City through his Instagram network @black.excellence.nyc, while also developing his own brand of interactive décor on Instagram @the_ironbonzai. Davonte hopes to further his education in order to better improve the educational and socio-economic status of his peers and young scholars.

About Leaders of Color

The Leaders of Color (LOC) program recruits Black and Brown leaders for public office. These leaders are respected in their communities and are provided a suite of resources to help win elections and increase their influence. Not only are community-based leaders uniquely essential to the sustainability of education reform, local leaders who support reform values are also the least likely to receive the supportive services necessary to launching and winning elections. The LOC training program is the launch of our long-term development to unapologetically usher in a new, bold group of Black and Latino elected officials.

LOC provides 70-plus hours of training content, delivered over a span of five months with in-person training weekends, focuses on cultivating leadership abilities, building education policy knowledge, and honing campaigning skills — all with an equity lens.

 

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ERN Releases Statement on CDC Reopening Guidelines

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 12, 2021)—Education Reform Now (ERN) National President Shavar Jeffries released the following statement in response to today’s school reopening guidelines released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“The reopening guidance released today by the CDC is a step in the right direction to getting all of our students and teachers safely back into the classroom. For the majority of young children, particularly children with the most challenges, remote learning has been a failure. Today’s guidance makes clear a path for more children to safely return to school in-person with strictly implemented mitigation strategies in place for students and staff.

We must work together to ensure all our public schools have the resources they need to open in person for as many students, as many days of the week as possible and help those behind catch up during the remainder of the year and over this coming summer.

We urge the Biden administration and Congress to continue to work to provide resources for distance learning, as well as supplemental resources like tutoring, so that all students are equipped with the tools needed to succeed.”

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Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan will soon be taking a victory lap for signing into law a half-measure on college affordability: free tuition to any Maryland community college for state residents who enroll within two years of high school graduation or obtaining a GED.

In all likelihood, Hogan also will pump his expansion proposal to provide an additional two years of free tuition to any four-year, in-state public college for those who successfully complete community college with a minimum 2.3 GPA.

Don’t be misled.

Maryland’s plan doesn’t help folks complete college who need help most. Hogan’s expansion proposal to push further students into community colleges as a pathway to a four-year degree actually undermines completion. His plan doesn’t tackle the number one influence on college completion — inadequate high school academic preparation. And it fails to provide resources to two and four-year colleges to pay for proven reforms that boost degree completion.


The next Governor (either a re-elected Hogan or Democratic nominee Ben Jealous) should deliver “a real college promise” for middle and low-income students who want not only to enroll in a public college, but graduate from one. It should cover the total cost of attendance, be available at four- and two-year public colleges, and spur improvement in high school preparation as well as postsecondary institution quality.

Gov. Larry Hogan’s free college plan doesn’t pass the affordability test, because it only covers community college tuition and fees. Books, supplies, transportation, and living expenses add up to more than the cost of tuition and fees. In many cases, books and supplies alone, never mind living expenses, cost more than community college tuition.

Moreover Maryland’s free community college tuition plan is a “last dollar” program, meaning it only covers tuition expenses if they aren’t first otherwise covered by federal aid. Today, the maximum federal Pell Grant that goes to students in low-income families totals almost $6,100 – more than the price of tuition and fees at every Maryland community college.

So Maryland’s free community college tuition plan is basically only for the middle class. Needy students from low-income and middle-class families will still have to borrow for very sizable non-tuition expenses. The research indicates if they do and drop out, they’ll be four times more likely to default on a student loan than their peers who graduate.

Hogan’s expansion proposal to deal with these shortcomings and increase bachelor’s degree attainment is mainly to channel graduating high school seniors away from four-year schools into lower-priced community colleges. A real college promise program doesn’t do that.

Don’t get me wrong. Community college is a wonderful option for many students, particularly those pursuing short-term vocational certificates or an associate’s degree. It seems like a cost-efficient start for those who plan to transfer and get a four-year degree, which nearly 70 percent of postsecondary education students want, because community colleges charge lower tuition levels. But it turns out, the community college to bachelor’s degree path is a very steep one. In general, students who can avoid it are wise to do so.

A student who enrolls in a community college but is qualified to attend a four-year school is 30 percentage points less likely to complete their degree compared to an identical student who attends a four-year school.

Why?

Students lose over 25 percent of credits when transferring from public two-year to public four-year colleges. Those who struggle with the high school to college transition, as most students do, benefit from greater student support services at more generously resourced four-year colleges as opposed to two-year schools. And last, students surrounded by academically stronger peers tend to do better academically.

There is a critical need to ensure students with the talent, desire, and drive to attend a four-year college have the opportunity to do so uninhibited by inability to pay. Under-matching to attend a two-year school doesn’t work for most kids or our future.

Of greatest concern though is that too many new students are not ready to complete college on time, if at all. For most, high school isn’t rigorous enough.

Nationally, one in four students who immediately enters college upon high school exit has to take at least one remedial course. Contrary to conventional belief, nearly half of remedial students are middle class and nearly half attend four-year institutions as opposed to community colleges. Overall, they are 74 percent more likely to dropout than their non-remedial peers.

A real college promise plan is one that provides resources for high school reform policies like upgraded academic programs for all, one-on-one tutoring, and extended learning time during the school year and over the summer.

Finally, a real college promise plan invests in institution of higher education improvement. A number of colleges have invested in new initiatives that are improving student outcomes.

The University of Maryland (UMD), for example, has shown introductory courses can be redesigned from “sage on the stage” operations to “flipped classrooms” where lectures are delivered at home on line and class time is used for problem sets and coached work. For Introductory Chemistry, UMD costs-per-student were reduced from $268 to $80 while the percentage passing with a ‘C’ or better rose from 50 percent to 70 percent.

True college access, affordability, and the reforms necessary to get better outcomes cost, but they pay off in the end.

Maryland is a relatively wealthy state. It shouldn’t try to do free college on the cheap. It should do it right.

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ERN Report Reveals Bay State’s White-Latinx College Graduation Gap Ranks as 37th Worst in the Country

Research—Supported by Latinx Organizations in Massachusetts—Analyzes What’s Going Wrong for Latinx Students and Others & Makes Recommendations for How the Commonwealth Can Increase College Affordability and Close Graduation Gaps at the Same Time

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Education Reform Now – a progressive think tank and advocacy organization – today released a new report, No Commencement in the Commonwealth, (available here) that analyzes public higher education in the Bay State and reveals that the Latino graduation gap ranks 37th worst in the country.

Among other findings that show how students of color experience disparate rates of college access and success in Massachusetts, the key finding of a very wide gap between White and Latino students is particularly striking given that the graduation gap between White and Black students in the Bay State ranks as 3rd best in the country. It’s further surprising considering that Latino students in the Bay State have higher K-12 achievement levels than Black students in Massachusetts and higher K-12 achievement levels than Latino students nationally.

“Public colleges should be engines of socioeconomic opportunity – but because of high cost and bad policy design, too often they’re perpetuating inequality, if not worsening it, for staggering numbers of students,” said Michael Dannenberg, Director of Strategic Initiatives for Policy at Education Reform Now and former Senior Education Counsel to the late Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA).  “When states disinvest from public higher education systems, tuition and fees rise and families get squeezed.  That’s why national leaders and officials in Massachusetts must do a better job of addressing inequities in education systems and economic opportunities from K-12 to college.”

“We need to make sure students—especially students of color and students from working families—have the critical support and resources to graduate without being crushed by debt,” said U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren.  “This report underscores a critical point: the federal government must support strong state investments in our public colleges and universities because smart investments pay off for our students and for our future.”

Education Reform Now’s research is supported by a number of organizations including Sociedad Latina, Collaborative Parent Leadership Action Network, East Boston Ecumenical Community Council, Hyde Square Task Force, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice, Alianza Hispana and Inquilinos Boricuas en Accion, among others.

With median income for Latinos far behind others in the Commonwealth and other Latinos nationwide, the high price of public higher education in Massachusetts is hitting Latino families particularly hard,” said Alexandra Oliver-Davila, Executive Director of Sociedad Latina.  “The state is effectively channeling Latino students into under-resourced community colleges, which affects their ability to graduate and subsequently generate higher earnings.  Our leaders must take action to end this cycle of educational and economic inequity.”

Other key findings in “No Commencement in the Commonwealth”:

The report provides five policy recommendations for how leaders in the Commonwealth can help close the significant graduation gap for Latinos and others in the state:

  1. Create a new, student responsibility-linked, statewide ‘free college’ promise that covers the total cost of attendance to any two or four-year public college for talented, hard-working students (i.e. who have completed a MassCore track or equivalent, among other requirements) if they are from households making less than $75,000 a year.
  2. Make MassCore available at all schools and the default academic track for all students.
  3. Provide competitive aid to school districts and non-profit organizations for high school student academic support services.
  4. Provide competitive aid to non-profit organizations and school districts to fund counseling on college selection, application and financing.
  5. Provide targeted direct aid to colleges and universities for institution-based efforts to boost completion.

Read the report here.