Daily Lumina News 072921

Programs that help teenage mothers stay in school can make a big difference to the education and life outcomes for both the adolescents and their babies. Only 53 percent of women in their 20s who gave birth in their teens hold a traditional high school diploma, compared to 90 percent of women who didn’t.
In one Texas border town, where teen pregnancy rates are high, individualized learning plans and a strong sense of community prepare teen moms for academic success.

The most common level of experience of teachers in the United States now is one year on the job. At the same time, enrollment in teacher training programs at colleges and universities is plummeting, and schools are looking to other sources to fill classrooms.
In Nevada, a critical need for teachers has led to allowing people with just a high school diploma to fill in as substitutes. Schools in Texas are increasingly turning to for-profit teacher training programs. APM Reports looks at the implications of these changes, both for children and for the teaching force.

For many students, a year of online learning has created a sense of isolation and little opportunity to get to know peers and professors.
The University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee hopes to change that with what it describes as a “human centered and trauma informed” return-to-campus plan. The effort—which includes new training, meditation spaces, and guided discussions—aims to help people form meaningful connections again, take care of themselves, and process their emotions.

The way college majors are designed can throw up a lot of barriers that advocates for students say are completely unnecessary. Now, a new push involving dozens of colleges is attempting to untangle curricular complexity and encourage more professors to think about their role in retaining and graduating students.
It is the latest in a series of projects to create a more coherent curriculum and smooth the path through college, often using analytics and data to help professors see patterns that would otherwise remain invisible.

Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of California’s 116 community colleges, officially began an unpaid advisor position in the Biden administration this week as part of a four-month paid sabbatical from the community college system.
Oakley will work directly with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, helping the administration tackle issues of college affordability and ensuring more community college students complete their degrees and certificates.

California community colleges will get $100 million to help homeless and food-insecure students as part of a $47.1 billion higher education spending plan that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed this week.
For students in need, the money will help fund meal donation programs, food pantries, CalFresh enrollment, and other nutrition assistance efforts. It will also help colleges offer on- and off-campus housing resources, mental health support, and other basic needs services.