College Planning

getty One needs simply to turn on the news to realize that we are a world divided. But what if, instead of a battlefield, the world was a schoolhouse? This is Khan Academy founder Sal Khan’s vision, and his latest education endeavor seeks to “connect the world through learning.” When a high school student in Oklahoma can offer free tutoring to an adult from Guatemala in calculus, or a professor in India can tutor a middle school student in Alabama in statistics, an enduring bond is formed that pushes aside politics and forgoes fences. The universality and interrelatedness of collaborative learning transcend the myriad of issues that polarize us. It is what Khan describes as an “unambiguous good.” Oh, and an added bonus is that it just might help you get into college. W...

Title IX protects transgender students, Biden’s Education Department says“It could very well be a game-changer,” David Hinojosa, director of the Educational Opportunities Project at the nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said in an email. “States accept federal moneys and agree not to discriminate on the basis of race, sex, etc., under federal laws including Title IX. If they are discriminating against students on the basis of gender, they could be jeopardizing their funding.” Published at Wed, 16 Jun 2021 20:09:59 +0000 Article source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/16/title-ix-transgender-students-discrimination/

Combining Online Courses With In-Person Supports, ‘Hybrid Colleges’ Unite Over the past decade, brick-and-mortar outposts have popped up across the U.S. to offer students who take online college courses a physical space to study and interact. In Denver, there’s a suite in an office complex. In Austin, there’s an airy hall that resembles a co-working facility. In Philadelphia, there’s room in a modern high-rise. Calling themselves “hybrid colleges,” these mini campus centers have set big goals for themselves, such as bringing college within reach for people historically left out of higher education. Now, more than a dozen of these nonprofits are strengthening their bonds and committing to shared goals by creating the Hybrid College Network. “The network is incredibly collaborative. They’re ...

Harvard Class of 2025 YieldJune 8, 2021 Harvard’s yield soared to a record high for the Class of 2025 (photo credit: Caroline Culler). Harvard University has announced that 85% of students admitted to its Class of 2025 will be matriculating. This marks a record yield for the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institution. To put the figure in context, for the Class of 2024, 81% of admits chose to matriculate. The previous record high yield was for the Class of 2021 when 84% of admits chose to attend Harvard. And in addition to the 85% of admits to the Class of 2025 who will be on campus next fall, 349 students who opted to take a gap year after earning admission to the Class of 2024 will join them this fall. As Vivi E. Lu and Dekyi T. Tsotsong report for The Harvard Crimson in a piece enti...

One year later, child care closures aren’t as bad as feared— but long-term issues still loom Get important education news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox When the pandemic shut down much of the country in March 2020, June Shillito reluctantly kept the Yates Baptist Child Development Center in Durham, North Carolina, open. She was nervous about the health of her staff and families, but she wanted to be able to provide an income for her teachers and serve children of essential workers. Even when her enrollment fell from 52 to 11 children, she was able to pay her staff members because the church affiliated with her center received a federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. Although children have slowly returned to the center, Shillito’s classrooms still aren’...

Two Black Students Won School Honors. Then Came the Calls for a Recount.The parents of the just-named valedictorian and salutatorian left the ceremony, aware that Emma and her father were upset, but thinking nothing of it. Over the next day, however, the parents of Emma and Dominic did their own homework. “We found the 2020-2021 handbook,” Mr. Berry said. “It all came down to the handbook.” At issue was just how to calculate who the top two students were. Ikeria and Layla won based on a calculation of quality point average or Q.P.A., a system of calculating grades that gave extra weight to advanced placement and dual credit courses. But, it turned out, Dominic and Emma were the top two finishers based on unweighted grade point average. Join Michael Barbaro and “The Daily” team as t...

First Amendment News 300: A Q&A interview with Laurence Tribe on freedom of expression “Few if any (on the bench, in the profession, or in the academy) have contributed more to our understanding of the First Amendment than has Laurence Tribe. Through his unparalleled record of scholarship and advocacy, Professor Tribe has done much to secure broad judicial and legislative protections for the full range of First Amendment freedoms.” — Robert Corn-Revere* * * * Prof. Laurence Tribe To commemorate the 300th posting of First Amendment News, I invited Professor Laurence Tribe, the Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional Law (emeritus), to participate in a “Question and Answer” exchange. He kindly agreed.  While many in the legal community and related fields know of his...

Is the Charter Schools Program financing white-flight academies?However, the privilege of segregation came with a cost — $5,000 a year in tuition that parents decided taxpayers should assume. As North Carolina teacher Justin Parmenter explains here, the academy’s parents created a Google site called “Let’s Charter Hobgood” to band together and convert the private academy to a charter school. In what looks like an attempt to allay any fears that the charter might be forced to integrate, the following was posted: “No current law forces any diversity whether it be by age, sex, race, creed.” After three attempts, parents pulled it off, and Hobgood Academy became a charter school. Published at Mon, 07 Jun 2021 17:38:52 +0000 Article source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/06/...

Technology Made Special Education Parents Better Advocates During the PandemicAs schools let out for summer, there are undoubtedly aspects of the past year that teachers and parents alike are ready to leave behind. But then there are the benefits that some are hoping stick around. Among them: better communication strategies and tools that make it easier for special education parents and teachers to interact. Those are lessons that should stay in place long after our current era of remote learning, says research analyst Lane McKittrick, who focuses on special education and families at the Center on Reinventing Public Education. She recently co-authored a report on how charter schools effectively supported students with disabilities during the pandemic and is blogging about the topic. “If yo...

Pennsylvania leaders fill federal gaps in sexual violence preventionThe year 2016 marked a dramatic shift in how federal education officials discussed and enforced polices to prevent and address sexual violence on college campuses and punish perpetrators. The Obama administration had spent about five years bringing attention to the pervasive sexual violence occurring on American campuses and threatening to sanction colleges that did not respond to reports of assault in a manner focused on protecting and believing victims. Those efforts were upended when Donald Trump was elected and appointed Betsy DeVos secretary of education. DeVos, whose views on campus sexual misconduct ran counter to the work of advocates for victims, quickly began to dismantle the policies of the Obama administration....

The 2021 college commencement speech for our timesThank you for inviting me back to Boston to be with you on this glorious day and in this spectacular setting. Fenway is a hallowed arena of achievement and joy and common purpose. Those are the very subjects I want to discuss today. But first things first. Deepest congratulations to all of the graduates on your achievements. As your achievements are recognized in this ceremony, you can look back with justifiable pride — because you have worked hard to reach this day. And you can look forward — with hopeful anticipation toward a fulfilling life. Congratulations as well to all the family and friends who are here, physically or in spirit, to celebrate with you. Throughout your years at Suffolk University, they have been by your side, supportin...

Amid Objections to Automated Proctoring, One Company Abandons the PracticeThe use of remote proctoring has surged as colleges shifted to remote instruction during the pandemic. But not everyone is on board with the practice. Many students and even some schools have pushed back against the practice, especially objecting to automated services that rely on algorithms that watch students via their webcam and look for suspicious patterns of behavior—sending clips of questionable moments to professors for later review. The problem, critics say, is that the systems often lead to false-positives, add stress to the test-taking process and invade privacy. Darker skin tones can prove especially tricky for algorithms. This week one large provider of proctoring services, ProctorU, took the unusual step...

7 Stress Management Tips To Deal With Academic Changes During Covid-19The new academic changes are taking their toll on students. Somehow “Your exam has been cancelled/postponed” has not brought the same degree of relief to students as it was supposed to. Sure, it’s all fun and games until the endless nights of hard work and sacrifices to excel in board exams become worthless. Deprived of classroom learning and co-curricular activities, students have been affected by Covid-19 in different ways from the past year. And the class of 2021 is on the threshold of missing out on another critical rite of passage – 10th and 12th board exams.  Although these closures are for their own good, it has left the students with an overwhelming sense of loss and a very alarming question – Now what? Read on t...

Your Guide To College Scholarships: What They Are And Where To Find ThemYour college applications are in and your acceptances will be arriving soon. But how are you going to pay for your dream college? College can be expensive, but scholarships can make a significant difference in defraying the cost. And contrary to popular belief, they aren’t only available to straight A students! Learn about different categories of scholarships and where to find them, then begin applying! Types of scholarships Academic Academic scholarships are the best known. They are based on your grades and special academic achievements, although they may also have requirements for certain extracurricular activities or community service. While many go to straight A students in AP courses, some are available for thos...