Daily Lumina News 051123

Kate Westaby became a mom at the age of 17. The caretaking and late nights were challenging, but it’s the stigma that remains with her the most.
Still, Westaby persevered, applying to college directly after high school. In this interview, Westaby talks about the resources and programs that were instrumental in her college experience—and the supports that could make even more of a difference for parenting students.

Calbright College, California’s only fully online community college, continues to make positive steps in the wake of a state audit and legislative criticism. Enrollment is up, growing by about 8 percent monthly.
Calbright's leaders are now touting another promising trend—this one on who is enrolling. More than 90 percent of Calbright students are 25 or older (more than double the rate for the system as a whole), more than one-third are parents or caregivers, and more than 70 percent identify as Black, Indigenous, Latino, or members of other racial or ethnic minority groups.

Kandra Brooks never got around to finishing her bachelor’s degree but still owes $250 a month for the debt she took out to attend college. The 31-year-old dreads the thought of the payments, which have been on pause since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, resuming.
Brooks is among the nearly half of all Americans—including the vast majority of those with student debt—who support President Joe Biden’s debt forgiveness plan, which would relieve up to $20,000 for borrowers who make less than $125,000.

Research and data unquestionably show the tremendous value of education after high school and the importance of starting as soon as possible—and finishing as fast as possible.
It is tempting, given the complexities and pressures of life, to look for a break. But for many students, that step away from building work and life skills through education and training comes at a cost, writes Lumina Foundation's Jamie Merisotis in this op-ed.

Almost 7.5 million public-school students, close to one in seven, are enrolled in rural districts. Serving more of them fits with many colleges’ missions and would also help bolster enrollment, which is facing demographic headwinds.
Efforts like the $20-million STARS College Network and the rootEd Alliance aim to improve the situation by increasing information, advising, and financial resources for rural students. Individual colleges also are upping their outreach through designated rural recruiters like Daryl Burleigh.

Last month, California passed a first-in-the-world rule that, among other things, requires all new medium- and heavy-duty trucks sold in the state to be electric or hydrogen-fueled by 2036, building on a previous truck rule passed in 2020.
The move has big implications for area community colleges, which are leading the charge to train the next generation of auto workers.