SUMMARY: The FBI reports that hate crime violence in the U.S. is at a 16-year high. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, meanwhile, says the highest percentage of hate incidents since the 2016 election occurred in elementary and secondary schools. Special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault takes a look at how this problem has manifest in northwest Oregon -- and what tool teachers are using to intervene.
SUMMARY: A college admissions scandal involving several celebrities has cast an ugly spotlight on how entry into higher education can be gamed. Standardized tests like the ACT and SAT are a key point in the saga, and they now face renewed scrutiny over their value — and their correlation to economic background. John Yang reports and talks to Jeff Selingo, author of several books on higher education.
SUMMARY: In the U.S., 36 million adults lack the basic literacy skills needed to sustain employment -- yet education programs for this group serve only about 1.5 million, and funding continues to be cut at state and federal levels. Meanwhile, stigma can keep adults from reconnecting with the classroom. Kavitha Cardoza reports from Maine, whose governor has pledged to increase funding for adult education.
SUMMARY: In a country fractured by political polarization, an Illinois program is hoping college students can help mend the rift. The University of Chicago and Eureka College created Bridging the Divide to address the harsh rhetoric that emerged from the 2016 election and inspire a generation of leaders by encouraging urban and rural college students to discuss their differences. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
SUMMARY: Colleges created remedial education classes to ensure students were sufficiently prepared for more advanced material. But increasingly, there’s a sense that remedial courses are hurting the prospects of the students they are intended to help. As a result, some California colleges and high schools are rethinking their approach to teaching math -- with encouraging results. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
SUMMARY: A majority of American college graduates leave school with tens of thousands of dollars in student loans. The issue of paying for college is so concerning that several 2020 presidential candidates have proposed forgiving student debt or making public colleges free. But as Hari Sreenivasan reports, some states and cities aren't waiting, and are instead developing their own college funding plans.
SUMMARY: Scandal has ensnared some of the nation’s top colleges, as prosecutors allege that wealthy parents conspired to help their kids cheat on college admissions tests and funnel bribes to college athletic coaches to secure admission into elite schools. William Brangham talks to Jeffrey Selingo, who covers higher education, about the stunning charges federal prosecutors brought on Tuesday.
SUMMARY: An explosive scandal around bribery and cheating in college admissions has prompted new questions about access, race and inequality in elite higher education. Judy Woodruff explores some of them with Daniel Golden, senior editor at ProPublica and author of a book on the unfairness of college admissions; and Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change, an organization focused on racial justice.
SUMMARY: Some of the nation's top teachers recently gathered in El Paso, Texas, to speak out against the government’s practice of detaining children who cross the U.S.-Mexico border. Dismissing the notion that they shouldn't get involved in political advocacy, teachers said they see some U.S. policy and procedures as "abusive." Special correspondent Kavitha Cardoza of Education Week reports.
SUMMARY: Participants from the NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs, a project that teaches young reporters about journalism and media literacy, share what they’d like to see from the media in 2019.
SUMMARY: Citing a "holistic" approach to school safety, a federal commission led by Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has released proposals on student mental health, cyber bullying, and discipline. For different perspectives on the report, Amna Nawaz talks to Catherine Lhamon, former Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education, and Jeanne Allen, CEO of Center for Education Reform.
Judy Woodruff (NewsHour): There have been 24 school shootings where someone was injured or killed this year at American public elementary, middle and high schools; 35 people have been killed, 28 of them students. Another 79 people have been injured.
Those are the latest stats that our colleagues at Education Week have been tracking. It's one of the worst years on modern record.
And yet there are still enormous differences of opinion about what should be done for school safety.
SUMMARY: The idea of the TEACH Grant program was simple: Teachers got a grant to pay for college or graduate school, and in exchange they agreed to teach for four years where they're needed. But an investigation by NPR found that inflexible rules were turning free grants into costly loans. William Brangham speaks with NPR's Cory Turner about a federal fix for program recipients.
SUMMARY: As automation spreads through the American economy, experts say its impacts will be uneven. Key factors in determining that effect include geography and race, but likely even more important is education. With the rapid pace of technological evolution, will job training be able to keep pace? John Yang reports from the Inland Empire of California as part of our new series, The Future of Work.
SUMMARY: Across the country, rural schools are being forced to shut down as more families move to urban areas and funding sources dry up. In Arena, Wisconsin, six-year-old Brady Schlamp must now travel 10 miles to school. His former school, right around the corner, was shuttered. As Jeffrey Brown reports, the closures can cause logistical challenges, emotional fallout and community divisions.
SUMMARY: School children in the U.S. often celebrate Thanksgiving by dressing up as pilgrims and “Indians.” But these traditions tend to perpetuate myths that are offensive to Native American communities. Education correspondent Kavitha Cardoza takes a look at a new movement aiming to reinvent the way schools teach Thanksgiving.
SUMMARY: The tradition of the U.S. President’s pardoning a turkey at Thanksgiving was repeated once again at the White House, as President Trump performed the ritual before heading to Mar-a-Lago. But what started this peculiar custom? Yamiche Alcindor reports on the surprising history behind the holiday practice.
SUMMARY: Despite years leading troops and managing equipment on the front lines, soldiers returning to school may have to start from the beginning, alongside teenagers who have never held a similar level of responsibility. Now, a new Colorado law awards college credit for military experience--and requires that the state's schools accept it. Hari Sreenivasan reports.
Hari Sreenivasan (NewsHour): This year, Colorado legislators embraced Pikes Peak's model by passing legislation to help all Colorado military and veteran students.
Colorado's new law says any state-funded institution has to be able to evaluate the knowledge or skills that a student might have picked up in the military. And if that student can earn credit for it, those credits have to be transferable to every state institution.
SUMMARY: At New Jersey’s Rutgers University, a new honors program for undergraduates is redefining academic excellence. Students accepted into the highly competitive Honors Living Learning Community (HLLC) study critical social issues and prove their commitment to becoming “change-makers." While the program is small, its early outcomes have been promising. Hari Sreenivasan has the story from Newark.
SUMMARY: Maine, land of lobsters and lighthouses, is also the nation’s oldest state. With a median age of 43, roughly a third of its population is in or approaching retirement. To counter its aging workforce, the state is attempting to attract more recent college graduates by helping to repay their student loans. Hari Sreenivasan reports as part of our weekly education series, Rethinking College.
SUMMARY: Puerto Rico's school system was struggling long before Hurricane Maria struck a year ago. But the disaster exacerbated deep problems, as schools were destroyed, thousands of children moved to the U.S. mainland and students struggle with trauma. Now, special correspondent Kavitha Cardoza of Education Week reports, the system is at a crossroads as the schools chief advocates for charter schools.
SUMMARY: Puerto Rico’s Center for Investigative Journalism, the Associated Press, and Quartz compiled an extensive database of nearly 500 victims of Hurricane Maria whose families say that mismanagement, poor communication and damaged infrastructure were to blame for the deaths. Ana Campoy, Latin America reporter for Quartz, joins Hari Sreenivasan from Dallas.
SUMMARY: Though it's an American tradition, not every school takes a long summer break. About 4 percent in the U.S. use a "balanced" calendar that operates year-round, sometimes to manage overcrowding but also to boost student achievement with more consistent education. Special correspondent Lisa Stark of Education Week reports on the pros and cons for students, families, and schools.
SUMMARY: The changing culture around sexual harassment and the #MeToo movement has some states and school districts rethinking their sex ed curriculum to include healthy relationships, preventing violence and ensuring consent. Special correspondent Lisa Stark of Education Week visits a Washington, D.C., school that is committed to comprehensive sexuality education.
