issue: Education

Manno for Philanthropy Daily: Apprenticeships: A Donor’s Guide to Creating New Pathways to Opportunity

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Bruno Manno

As schools and universities grapple with preparing young Americans for the world of work, American employers struggle to find enough workers to fill jobs they have available. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in May 2024 the U.S. labor market had 8.5 million job openings and 6.5 million unemployed people, which is about 1.3 jobs for every unemployed person.

A great deal of ink has been spilled and dollars spent trying to bridge this disconnect between worker supply and demand. Much of that effort assumes that the traditional pipeline from high school to a two- or four-year college to the workforce or some variation on this approach is the only, or best, way forward. But many Americans, including employers and young people, are questioning whether a college degree is the best pathway to a good job and adult success.

They want other education and training pathways that prepare individuals for employment and adult success. These new avenues include apprenticeships, which typically integrate paid, on-the-job training with formal classroom instruction. These “learn and earn” pathways offer an alternative to the traditional college campus experience by creating a school and workplace campus experience.

These new apprenticeship pathways are just beginning to take shape. Early returns are very promising. This means it is an area ripe for philanthropic impact. Individual donors and foundations wanting to create more pathways to opportunity for individuals in their communities should consider funding apprenticeship programs. In doing so, they foster opportunity pluralism.

Keep reading in Philanthropy Daily.

Bruno Manno Joins PPI to Lead the Newly Established What Works Lab

Posted on by Max Sherrill

Washington, D.C. — The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Bruno Manno as Senior Advisor. Manno will lead the newly established What Works Lab, a pioneering initiative dedicated to exploring and implementing innovative education pathways that promote economic and social mobility.

The What Works Lab will highlight and document evidence-based approaches to prepare individuals for a lifetime of opportunities. The Lab’s initial focus will encompass five key project topics: addressing challenges in education and workforce development, promoting opportunity pluralism, organizing pathways programs, bridging ideological divides through a governing agenda, and fostering responsible citizenship to nourish civil society.

“Through the years, Bruno Manno has been a friend, a mentor, and an invaluable partner for PPI’s work on modernizing America’s K-12 public schools and creating alternative career pathways for the majority of young Americans who do not have college degrees,” said Will Marshall, President of PPI. “That’s why we’re delighted to announce he’s joining PPI to head an exciting new project — the What Works Lab. The Lab’s mission is to identify and validate the most promising initiatives around the country for equipping young people with the skills and opportunities they need to thrive in today’s economy.”

Manno brings a wealth of knowledge to PPI, having served most recently as the Senior Advisor for the Education Program at the Walton Family Foundation. His work has consistently focused on helping children find unique paths to opportunity and purpose, aligning perfectly with the Lab’s mission to create diverse and effective educational pathways.

The What Works Lab will collaborate with other PPI initiatives, including the New Skills for a New Economy Project and the Reinventing America’s Schools Project. This cooperation will harness the collective expertise of PPI staff and senior fellows to address the multifaceted challenges facing the American workforce and education systems.

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Find an expert at PPI and follow us on Twitter.

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Media Contact: Tommy Kaelin – tkaelin@ppionline.org

PPI Comment on NPRM for Additional Student Debt Relief, Docket ID ED-2023-OPE-0123, Federal Register, 2024-07726

Posted on by Max Sherrill

Although we at the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) believe some modest relief from overly burdensome debt is warranted, we are concerned many of this rule’s provisions would provide generous windfalls to relatively affluent borrowers while providing little additional benefit for borrowers most in need. The rule also comes with a high cost to taxpayers — $147 billion by the department’s own estimates — yet has no offsets to pay for it, making it a clear violation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s administrative PAYGO provision. Proceeding with this rule as written would only worsen the existing bias that federal policy has towards the minority of young people who attend college, at the expense of the majority who do not yet will be saddled with the bill.

Founded in 1989, PPI – a 501(c)(3) think tank – is a force for radically pragmatic innovation in politics and government. Our mission is to develop a new progressive blueprint for change that can help center-left parties broaden their appeal and build stable governing majorities. PPI has been a prominent voice in fiscal policy through our Center for Funding America’s Future, which works to promote a fiscally responsible public investment agenda that fosters robust and inclusive economic growth. The Center has played a critical role in shaping fiscal policy debates around key legislation over the past five years and has been extremely involved in the national college affordability discussion.

In a previous comment, we applauded the administration’s efforts to expand and improve upon income-driven repayment programs, which we believe are the best mechanisms to help borrowers who are burdened by the debt of pursuing degrees from which they did not ultimately benefit. But we also warned that the Department’s SAVE plan was overly aggressive in scope, leading to the typical college graduate paying back only three fifths of what they initially borrowed — and not a dollar of interest. Providing such a generous subsidy is profoundly unfair to the majority of American taxpayers who didn’t attend college and are being asked to foot the bill for people who did, despite earning lower average incomes than them. Even worse, it is likely to further inflate the already high costs of college by incentivizing universities to hike tuition rather than control costs.

PPI is concerned that the current proposed rule would compound these mistakes. The rule’s most expensive provision, the cancellation of accumulated interest, will mostly benefit wealthy professionals while being redundant for low-income borrowers struggling with high debt burdens. Enrolling the SAVE plan already prevents borrowers with large loan balances and lifetime earnings equal to or below those of the average college graduate from having to pay any interest. But borrowers who enhance their future earnings by taking on large debts, such as lawyers, doctors, and other professional degree holders, will reap a significant windfall that they should not get if this rule is finalized as proposed. Currently, the rule proposes to cancel up to $20,000 of interest for those on standard repayment and an unlimited amount for those enrolled in IDR. We urge the department to set this interest cap as low as possible for all borrowers to limit these regressive impacts.

We are similarly concerned about the provision to forgive all loans after 20-25 years. Those enrolled in IDR plans even before the SAVE plan was enacted were on track to have their balances forgiven after 20-25 years of making the required payments. If someone is paying back student loans for more than 25 years, they are likely a professional degree holder with a large debt balance who has chosen to structure their repayment plans over a longer period of time. Giving forgiveness to a relatively affluent group in the last few years of their repayment is unnecessary and arbitrary, especially when the most vulnerable borrowers already benefit from a similar policy.

We are more sympathetic towards the provision providing relief to borrowers who attended low-value educational institutions. These students are most likely to be burdened by the debt of pursuing a degree from which they did not financially benefit. We applaud previous rulemaking from the department targeting these often fraudulent institutions, forcing them to transparently disclose the financial value they provide for students, cutting off future federal aid, and closing them if necessary. But we encourage the Department to work with Congress to ensure the costs of canceling this debt are borne by these predatory institutions as much as possible rather than asking taxpayers to foot the bill.

The administration has already spent more than $600 billion of American taxpayer money on executive actions to cancel student loan debt, most of which belonged to individuals with above-average lifetime earnings, without explicit approval from Congress. We urge the Department to work with lawmakers on developing progressive reforms to the SAVE plan, greater accountability for educational institutions, and other common-sense reforms to control the cost of higher education rather than pursuing more unilateral debt cancellation schemes.

Even in the absence of congressional action, we also encourage the Department to keep the above concerns in mind when developing their proposed regulations on “waivers for hardship,” as is mentioned to be forthcoming in the proposed rule.

Read the comment on the proposed Department of Education rule.

Marshall for The Hill: Red states are fueling a public school exodus

Posted on by The Progressive Policy Institute

By Will Marshall

A new spirit of secession is fracturing our country. Republicans are carving out a red-state confederacy where they can impose their own laws and social mores in defiance of national majorities.

To take the most obvious example, Americans strongly oppose abortion bans. That hasn’t stopped 21 Republican-controlled states from passing laws outlawing or severely restricting abortion.

Now red states are applying this twist on John Calhoun’s doctrine of states’ rights and concurrent majorities to education.

Read More in The Hill.

Pankovits for The Orange County Register: Moderate Sen. Bill Dodd should withdraw misguided anti-charter school bill

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Tressa Pankovits

Senator Bill Dodd, D-Napa, bills himself a moderate with pragmatic priorities. So, it’s puzzling that he’d introduce Senate Bill 1380. SB 1380 would authorize school district boards to deny charter school applications if it had closed a school within the past five years. It would also gut county education boards’ authority to overrule the local board’s denial.

Elected school board members are politicians. They can be beholden to political donors, and sometimes donors’ priorities don’t align with families’ need for better public school options. Taking away oversight over school boards’ decision-making would grant them excessive power.

Dodd’s rationale is the misguided notion that when parents enroll their child in a public charter school, they drain school districts of funding. But charter schools are public schools: free and open to all. They are part of California’s public school system; they simply operate independently of district bureaucracies.

Keep reading in The Orange County Register.

How Online Education Can Open Doors for Rural Students

Posted on by Max Sherrill

Seventy-two percent of America is rural, yet these areas are only home to 14 percent of the population. Rural communities across the U.S. have higher poverty rates and lower education levels compared to those in urban and suburban areas.

While 41 percent of urban adults have a college degree, only 28 percent of rural adults do. While in most states, rural high school students achieve graduation rates similar to urban and suburban peers, their college enrollment rates are much lower. Without a degree, or a necessary alternative, rural students are less able to find higher-skilled and higher-paying jobs.

Going to college is a major decision, for anyone, but especially rural students who face increased barriers in accessing postsecondary education. Not only are there not as many colleges in rural areas, but getting to campus can pose a logistical challenge due to the distance students have to travel. This is especially hard if you are an adult learner, who make up over 30 percent of today’s postsecondary students. These learners are usually working or have a family and don’t have the flexibility to travel for hours to continue their education.

Rural America also continues to question the value of degree programs — grappling with the time, cost, and return on investment. Additionally, many communities and families fear that students who pursue a college degree will ultimately leave to seek better-paying careers elsewhere.

It’s clear college as we know it is not working for rural students. To close these gaps in educational attainment and economic opportunity, the nation’s higher education system must evolve to create more accessible, flexible, and industry-responsive opportunities.

Online education presents a solution to this educational divide. Remote, online opportunities offer a flexible and convenient way for students to learn. Instead of traveling far distances for their coursework, rural students can pursue online learning at their own pace, on their own time, and from the comfort of their own home. This flexibility eliminates the stress and cost of a long commute, the difficulties of juggling work and school, and having to build a schedule around very specific class times.

Online learning also helps to mitigate the concern of losing the younger generation to urban areas for higher education. Instead, these opportunities allow learners to stay in their community while also presenting a local economic development strategy. A more skilled workforce attracts employers which hopefully means more jobs and increased economic prosperity in the region.

However, even with the benefits, more must be done to ensure rural students can access online learning opportunities that yield strong economic returns.

First, reliable access to the internet remains a concern for rural students. Only 63 percent of rural adults say they have access to the internet at home, compared with 75 percent of urban adults. Policymakers and leaders must ensure these communities have access to basic internet so they can take advantage of remote education options. For example, Western Governors University (WGU) is working to help more students gain internet access by offering scholarships and working with political leaders to drive comprehensive solutions to the challenge. The Biden Administration has also invested in this effort through COVID recovery bills like The American Rescue Plan Act’s Digital Equity Act Program — providing $2.75 billion to establish three grant programs that promote digital equity and inclusion. They aim to ensure that all people and communities have the skills, technology, and capacity needed to reap the full benefits of the nation’s digital economy.

Second, online learning can be isolating, especially if you are learning in a remote, rural community. Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (MDRC) has an idea that to enhance online education, college leaders, policymakers or others could create telecommuting hubs. These coworking spaces would offer broadband and office space — to help learners work together on shared challenges, while also allowing program completers to stay in their communities while pursuing high-wage work.

And lastly, federal regulation matters. Many rural schools have started partnering with online program managers (OPMs) for help launching or supporting online programs. OPMs supply a package of products, technology, and skill-sets that may be outside the core mission, experience, and expertise of a given college or university — helping to provide services outside a college or university’s reach. Writing on behalf of St. Bonaventure University in New York, Michael Hoffman said that their “OPM brings tremendous knowledge of online student recruitment, retention, and instructional design, which has been fundamental to our ability to offer high-quality, fully online programs.” However, last year, the Department of Education proposed a regulatory change that would have a detrimental impact on the ability of rural colleges to offer online classes through OPMs. To ensure more individuals — especially in rural communities — have access to online programming, federal leaders must regulate in a way that allows and incentivizes positive partnerships with OPMs, while ensuring these partnerships are fair, non-discriminatory, and yield strong student outcomes.

Online education emerges as a transformative solution to the multifaceted challenges hindering rural students’ access to postsecondary education. By overcoming geographical barriers, providing flexibility in scheduling, and mitigating the phenomenon of brain drain, online learning opens doors to educational opportunities previously inaccessible to many in rural communities. Its adaptability and accessibility not only empower students to pursue higher education but also contribute to the revitalization of rural economies and the retention of talent within these communities. As we continue to embrace the digital era, the promise of online education in bridging the gap between rural and urban educational opportunities remains a beacon of hope for a more equitable and inclusive future.

Maag for The 74: Creating a Climate-Literate Workforce in Colorado, Starting in Middle School

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Taylor Maag

The Yampa Valley of Colorado is breathtaking – with the Flat Top Mountains and the Yampa river. It is a region of deep history and natural beauty. But it’s not hard to see the effects of climate change. It is getting hotter and drier, the snowpack is changing and wildfire risk is at an all-time high. And this isn’t unique to that area of the state. A majority of Colorado has warmed 1 to 2 degrees Fahrenheit in the last century. In 2020, 625,000 acres burned in forest fires, and warming temperatures are decreasing the snowpack in the southern Rockies.

To solve these challenges, the state and the nation at large need a workforce that is prepared to address the concerns of today, find solutions for tomorrow and transition the country to a more climate-conscious economy. Unfortunately, the rapidly growing clean-energy sector is bumping up against serious labor constraints, having difficulty filling jobs and ensuring that workers have the needed skills. In the next seven years, there are expected to be over 550,000 new energy-transition jobs in the U.S. In 2022 alone, green job postings on LinkedIn jumped 20% — yet the pool of workers with the skills required to fill them grew by only 8.4%.

Regions like the Yampa Valley need help attracting and developing talent that can combat this worsening crisis. A leader in this initiative is Lyra, a nonprofit that seeks to reimagine education by designing and broadening climate-driven career pathways and empowering school communities to drive their own reforms. The organization does this through three main efforts: innovation zones, mission accelerators and the Climatarium initiative that is increasingly pertinent to solving some of the state’s most dire challenges.

Keep reading in The 74.

Pankovits for Colorado Politics: Lawmakers pick on low-income children of color

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Tressa Pankovits

Three suburban Colorado legislators last month introduced a bill designed to run public charter schools out of the state. Yet, most charter schools serve urban, not suburban, children. In Colorado, 49.5% of all charter school students live in a city. Not surprisingly, more than half are non-white. Additionally, almost 40% are eligible for a free or reduced lunch, which is how education systems measure low-income students. By way of contrast, just 2.5% of Colorado’s suburban students attend a charter school.

So, why are state Reps. Tammy Story and Lorena García, and Sen. Lisa Cutter crusading against a public education option preferred by minority families who aren’t their constituents?

It’s not as if they’re “bad” schools. The Program on Education Policy and Governance (PEPG) at Harvard University studied national test scores from 2009 to 2019. Colorado charter school students placed second in the nation. In a slightly different study by Stanford University’s Center for Research of Educational Outcomes, Colorado’s public charter school students benefitted from extra personalized learning each year — equal to 15 extra days of reading instruction and 13 days in math — when compared to district schools. That’s fantastic for the state’s 135,000 children lucky enough to get off of a waiting list and get a seat.

Keep reading in Colorado Politics.

Pankovits for Community Conversations with NACSA: A Story of Innovation & Partnership

Posted on by Max Sherrill

Tressa Pankovits, Co-Director of Reinventing America’s Schools Project at the Progressive Policy Institute, Priscila Dilley, Senior Officer at the Leadership Academy Network, and Dr. David Saenz, Chief of Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships at Fort Worth ISD come  together to tell a unique and powerful story.  The partnership between Leadership Academy Network, Fort Worth Independent School District, and Texas Wesleyan University epitomizes using the principles and practices of charter school authorizing to rethink improving public education more broadly.

How Postsecondary Online Education is Empowering Today’s Students

Posted on by Max Sherrill

Today’s postsecondary students look different than they did 20 years ago. Their paths today are not as linear, with many students opting out of going to college right after high school. As a result, today’s students are more diverse than ever before: 34% are adults, over half are first-generation students, 22% are parents, and the majority of students are working while learning.

To create a new means of economic mobility for the diversifying student body, California established its first statewide online community college, Calbright College, in July 2018. Calbright was the first of its kind, an exclusively online community college, free of charge to Californians, and focused on helping students rapidly earn credentials for in-demand jobs. Enrollment numbers have skyrocketed in the last two years, going up 574% since July 2021, with 3,240 students currently enrolled at Calbright.

And these trends are not unique to this California community college. Interest and participation in online learning continues to grow, with 2020 seeing record enrollment. Between 2012 and 2019, the number of hybrid and distance-only students at traditional universities increased by 36%, while the pandemic rapidly accelerated that growth by an additional 92%. Today over half of postsecondary students are enrolled in at least one online course.

What’s more, research from Western Governor’s University (WGU), one of the largest online universities in the country, surveyed more than 3,000 students across nine diverse institutions including community colleges, private and public four-year institutions, and primarily online, not-for-profit colleges. First-generation learners surveyed were especially positive about online education, with more than three-quarters of these students, indicating they would be interested in taking online courses in the future. This response was nearly ten percentage points higher than their peers with college-educated parents.

The ability to learn anytime, anywhere — and often for a fraction of the cost — is clearly attractive for today’s students. Online learning offers them the flexibility to balance their academic pursuits with other responsibilities and commitments, allowing them to study at their own pace and on their own schedule. Online education has also eliminated many of the barriers associated with traditional campus-based programs — supporting students, who may be unable to relocate or commute to a physical campus. This factor is especially helpful in rural communities that are more remote allowing individuals to enroll in programs across the country without ever leaving their homes.

Online education has also evolved to meet the diverse needs of today’s students through innovative program structures and support services. Institutions now offer a wide range of online degrees and certificates while also providing comprehensive academic advising, tutoring, and career counseling services. For example, at Calbright, students can access academic and career counseling to help them make informed choices about their academic and job pursuits, and it is all covered by the state.

While online education was once considered an alternative or supplementary option, it has rapidly expanded and emerged as a cornerstone of higher education. But to ensure opportunities continue to open doors that were previously inaccessible, America’s higher education system must evolve, and these programs must continue to evolve to ensure quality and alignment with student and employer needs.

To do this, the U.S. must modernize the way it invests in postsecondary education. Policy must enable individuals to pursue more flexible and affordable ways to acquire higher skills and higher-wage jobs, including online educational opportunities. Passing the bipartisan Workforce Pell Act in Congress would be a good start. This bill would allow students to use the Pell Grant for shorter-term postsecondary programs, including fully online programs that meet certain quality metrics.

Additionally, federal policymakers should refrain from over-regulation that would discourage online education. Last year, the American Council on Education, the major coordinating body for the nation’s colleges and universities warned that a U.S. Department of Education proposed rule would cause “significant disruption and termination of critical education services to students,” including many online programs.

But quality is important. For students to derive real value, online learning experiences must ultimately lead to economic mobility, ensuring students complete the program and leave with the necessary skills and credentials for success. In addition to teaching academic and technical skill sets, online programs must ensure students learn the critical employability skills that remain a high priority for employers through peer-to-peer experiences and other hands-on learning opportunities. This will ensure students know how to work with others, can problem-solve, and ultimately succeed in the workforce.

As we look to the future of postsecondary education, online learning will play a pivotal role in expanding access and opportunities for non-traditional students. Colleges like Calbright will continue to grow and be attractive for many students, including those that are older, first generation, and juggling work and familial responsibilities. However, more must be done to ensure these opportunities are truly engrained in America’s postsecondary education system. By embracing digital innovation and leveraging the flexibility and convenience of online platforms, our nation can ensure that all individuals, regardless of their background or circumstances, have the chance to pursue their educational aspirations and build a brighter future for themselves and their communities.

Pankovits for The Wall Street Journal: School Choice Can Save Biden’s Presidency

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Tressa Pankovits

Joe Biden needs a winning issue to save his struggling campaign. He has one in public school choice and would benefit from spotlighting it in his State of the Union address Thursday evening.

The president hasn’t spoken much on the issue since 2020, when he disparaged charter schools. That was a mistake then, as it would be today. Talking positively about the issue would attract working-class and low-income voters who can’t afford to leave their poorly performing public schools.

Charter schools are free, public and open to all. They have a track record of success. I’ve visited charters in every region of the country, and each has rendered the same complaint: No one outside their small community listens to them. From Rhode Island and Illinois to California and New York, lawmakers often attempt to block new charters or otherwise hamstring existing ones.

Read more in The Wall Street Journal.

Valentine for Real Clear Education: Are HBCUs the Key to the Future?

Posted on by The Progressive Policy Institute

By Curtis Valentine

“The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.”

This Black History Month, teachers and students of all colors will study this famous quote from martyred leader and speaker Malcolm X and hopefully reflect on its meaning. For so many, the future is more uncertain than ever. As we grapple with issues ranging from Artificial Intelligence to post-COVID learning loss, chronic absenteeism, the science of reading, teacher diversity, and the future of higher education, there is a greater need for a transformative solution to longstanding racial disparities in educational outcomes.

The recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), commonly referred to as “The Nation’s Report Card,” underscores the persistent disparities between races. For example, white fourth graders continue to outscore their Black counterparts by a margin that has only marginally improved since 1992. The imperative for change is clear and waiting is simply not an option.

In the realm of educational innovation, where is the visionary idea that will instill accountability, grant autonomy to educational leaders, and expand school choice for low-income parents, thereby fostering the most significant gains for Black and Brown students?

Read more in Real Clear Education.

Untapped Expertise: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as Charter School Authorizers

Posted on by Max Sherrill

Washington, D.C. — For generations, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been a catalyst for education progress in America, including transforming K-12 education through a combination of initiatives and programs designed to meet the aspirations of students who often lack opportunities. And yet, when parents demand new and better schools for their children, HBCUs continue to represent an under-utilized source of expertise that can help redesign the 21st-century public education system.

Today, the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) and the National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) released a report titled “Untapped Expertise: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as Charter School Authorizers,” which makes the case for expanded partnerships between charter schools and HBCUs to become charter school authorizers. Authorizers are governmentally approved and supervised entities that oversee academic, financial, and operational expectations and school performance. Quality authorizing is a catalyst for expanding access to quality educational opportunities for students and families, especially communities of color.

Report authors Curtis Valentine, Co-Director of PPI’s Reinventing America’s Schools Project, and Karega Rausch, President and CEO of NACSA, argue that HBCUs are natural partners for charter schools due to their long history in education reform and pre-existing relationships. To speed up the pace of school improvement and modernization, America needs more quality charter school authorizers. Currently, the states with the most HBCUs do not allow for higher education authorizers, and the report’s authors call on policymakers to create pathways for capable HBCUs to become strong charter school authorizers.

“HBCUs have played a powerful role in our nation’s education system for generations. As an alumnus of an HBCU, I know firsthand the untapped expertise HBCUs can have on our K-12 education, especially for charter schools — which play a vital role in lowering systemic barriers to high-quality education,” said Curtis Valentine. “HBCUs becoming charter school authorizers is a new and transformative way of achieving that end.”

“Excellent schools built from the aspirations of families remain the north star and high-quality authorizing is key in achieving that end,” said Karega Rausch. “Authorizing well is hard work and we look forward to working with policymakers to create thoughtful pathways for willing HBCUs to be outstanding authorizers.”

The report outlines the steps that state policymakers should take to empower our nation’s HBCUs to become strong charter school authorizers. Charter schools have proven to be a powerful tool for boosting student achievement, especially among low-income families and families of color. By becoming charter school authorizers, HBCUs can build on their historical legacy of transforming K-12 education by strengthening ties between K-12 and higher education and creating strong community institutions that provide opportunities for economic growth.

Read and download the report here.

The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Find an expert at PPI and follow us on Twitter.

The National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) advances and strengthens the ideas and practices of authorizing so students and communities—especially those who are historically under-resourced—thrive. NACSA believes that quality authorizing is essential and must balance access, autonomy, and accountability in overseeing the overall performance of their portfolios of schools. Find out more about authorizing and NACSA at qualitycharters.org.

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Media Contact:

Amelia Fox – afox@ppionline.org, Courtney Hughley – courtneyh@qualitycharters.org

Untapped Expertise: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) as Charter School Authorizers

Posted on by Alyssa Brown

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

For generations, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have been a catalyst for transformation in K-12 through initiatives, including diversifying teaching pipelines, starting new schools, and establishing programs designed to meet the aspirations of students far away from quality opportunities.

And yet, in many ways, we have not yet realized the full potential for how HBCUs can drive educational opportunities for all K-12 students. At a time when parents across the country are demanding new and better schools for their children, HBCUs represent an under-tapped source of expertise. This is especially relevant for Black families because of the disproportionate impact that unfinished learning has on them and the systemic barriers to high-quality education that this community has historically faced. HBCUs have a unique history, legacy, and record of advancing Black achievement and wellness, which makes them ideal partners in redesigning public education for the 21st century.

Elevating HBCUs’ Role in K-12 Education

HBCUs and their alumni have played powerful roles in K-12 public education, including charter schools. Alumni are leading outstanding charter learning institutions with exceptional student outcomes, and some HBCUs have partnered with charter schools in effective ways including integrating charter schools on their campuses. This arrangement provides students with a unique experience in which they are introduced to the promise and prestige of higher education earlier in their educational journey. And we believe it is merely the start of a partnership that can have a profound difference in the lives of underserved communities.

Charter schools have proven to be a powerful tool for boosting student achievement, especially among low-income families and families of color. Charter schools are public schools, free and open to all students. They currently serve nearly four million students across 7,700 schools in 45 states and the District of Columbia. When permitted to thrive, charter schools offer families a variety of educational options from which to choose the best fit for their child. They are the opposite of one-size-fits-all schooling. Their unique blend of parental choice, school autonomy, personalized learning, and strict accountability for results illuminates the way toward higher-performing schools for all U.S. students, regardless of their zip code. They create a healthy mix of different types of public schools that helps improve all of public education.

What makes public charter schools innovative and nimble is how they are governed and overseen. The key is charter school authorizers — governmentally approved and supervised entities that decide who is qualified to start a charter school and receive public funding. They determine each school’s academic, financial, and operational expectations; oversee school performance; enforce contractual performance and compliance expectations; and decide which schools should be given the privilege of continuing to educate students.

A practical barrier to quality public school options is the shortage of effective governance and oversight provided by charter school authorizers.

When done well, authorizing is a catalyst for expanding access to quality educational opportunities for students, families, and communities, especially those that have been overlooked, undervalued, and ignored.

But when done poorly — due to overregulation, insufficient institutional commitment, micromanagement, sheer incompetence, or inherent conflicts of interest — weak authorizing contributes to educational failure.

Authorizing charter schools is a relatively new way of making transformative change in K-12 governance and oversight. HBCUs as authorizers is a means to a critical end and one HBCUs have been doing since their inception: better educational opportunities for all students.

To speed the pace of school improvement and modernization, America needs more strong charter school authorizers. Given their capacities and expertise, the nation’s HBCUs are natural candidates to assume this role.

Recommendations for Policymakers:

NACSA and PPI urge state policymakers to take the following steps to start empowering willing HBCUs to become strong charter school authorizers:

• Query college leaders to determine if there is at least one HBCU interested in becoming a high-quality charter school authorizer (HBCUs can contact state policymakers directly to express interest);

• Examine national best practices on quality authorizing and how other states have structured authoring infrastructures to determine the best fit for your state;

• Determine the scope of HBCU authorizing (e.g. one institution or multiple institutions) and any other limitations (e.g. only HBCUs of a certain size);

• Enact legislation allowing for one or more HBCUs to be authorizers;

• Ensure there is sufficient funding and resources for authorizing functions.

A Stronger Future for Education

By becoming charter school authorizers, HBCUs can build on their historical legacy of transforming K-12 education in at least four ways:

1. Redesigning Public Education: Overseeing and expanding quality public school options to improve the outcomes of all students.

2. Building on educational legacies: Overseeing high-quality and effective K-12 schools can help HBCUs build on their rich legacy by deepening connections with local communities.

3. Strengthening ties between K-12 and higher education: HBCU authorizers can develop unique partnerships with schools they oversee, providing access to higher education campuses, creating pipelines of new students, opportunities for dual enrollment, mentorship programs between schools and students, and research opportunities between faculty and schools.

4. Creating strong community institutions and wealth: New charter schools create new facilities and jobs, with opportunities for economic growth in communities, such as Black vendors who can provide new charter schools with products and services.

Our country needs stronger educational opportunities that advance the learning of all students, Black students in particular. HBCUs as charter school authorizers is a transformative way of achieving this goal. For HBCUs looking to expand their impact and strengthen their own institutions, becoming a charter school authorizer is an idea whose time has come.

Read the full report. 

Maag for The Hill: With fewer degree requirements, the federal government can break the ‘paper ceiling’

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Taylor Maag and Michael Brickman

Education has become one of America’s most significant dividing lines. Those with bachelor’s and advanced degrees have mostly prospered, while employment prospects, wages and advancement opportunities for those with less education have fallen.

Yet, with so much else dividing our country, there is a growing bipartisan consensus that we must tear “the paper ceiling” that denies opportunities to those without at least a bachelor’s degree.

Early in the 2000s, many employers began adding degree requirements to job descriptions — whether they needed them or not — using the degree as a proxy for job preparedness. As a result, workers without a bachelor’s degree were screened out of opportunities. For example, in 2015, 67 percent of production supervisor job postings asked for a four-year college degree, even though just 16 percent of employed production supervisors had graduated from college.

Research from Opportunity@Work found that because of this “degree inflation,” there is a talent pool of skilled workers being left behind in our economy. The data shows that Americans skilled through alternative routes other than a bachelor’s degree represent 50 percent of the U.S. workforce. Many of them possess skills that should qualify them for jobs with salaries at least 50 percent higher than their current job.

In other words, our current hiring practices systematically underutilize the skills of millions of U.S. workers, deepening the economic divide between those with and without college degrees.

Keep reading in The Hill.

Maag for RealClearEducation: Can Career Learning Bring America’s Young People Back to School?

Posted on by Max Sherrill

By Taylor Maag

School absenteeism sky-rocketed post-pandemic: 6.5 million more students missed at least 10% or more of the 2021-22 school year than in 2017-18. This means 14.7 million students were chronically absent even after schools reopened from the pandemic. While preliminary data shows that absentee rates slightly decreased in the 2022-23 school year, truancy remains a serious concern for our nation’s K-12 system.

School absences take a toll on the academic performance and social-emotional development of young people. The National Center for Education Statistics, the organization that administers the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), cited increased student absenteeism as a main factor in recent NAEP score declines. Beyond test scores, irregular attendance can be a predictor of dropping out of high school, which has been linked to poor labor market prospects, diminished health, and increased involvement in the criminal justice system.

If we want to get students back in the classroom and avoid poor outcomes for our nation’s young people, U.S. leaders must rethink how we operate K-12 education. One potential solution is reinventing high school to ensure every young person is exposed to the world of work through career-oriented education and learning. An analysis of international cross-section data found that nations enrolling a large proportion of students in vocational or career-focused programs have significantly higher school attendance rates and higher completion rates than those that don’t.

Read more in RealClearEducation.