We all need kindness and we all need love. May’s theme is “Where is the Love?”. You can be someone’s answer. The envelope in the picture above is an amazing story I found of kindness and agape love. Two sisters fled their country to the U.S. in the late 90’s with little English and no money. They encounter a stranger on the plane that gave them a miracle in that envelope and then she disappeared. 

April is all about renewal and looking ahead. As you are all in the planning process for the summer and year ahead, remember- Reknow before you Renew.  That applies for anything in your life, not just work. If it no longer makes sense, don’t keep it. You owe it to yourself and the youth that we all serve. Let go of what no longer serves you. We must let go of the barriers to blooming, so that we can be the full flower we deserve to be.

In this dissertation, the researchers explore the administrative barriers that prevent college students experiencing housing or food insecurity from accessing college and community resources. This research is a wonderful showcase of the challenges both for students and for colleges when implementing support systems as well as consolidates the variety of programs colleges use to support students. This research is great for any faculty or college administrator interested in creating or improving their current resources and programs to ensure all of their students have what they need.

The biggest structural barrier to
increasing college completion rates and
career success in the United States is
the enduring and seemingly intractable
disconnect between high school, higher
education, and our workforce systems.
They are misaligned—with incompatible
expectations, governing policies, and
funding streams—and onerous for most
students to navigate. This report showcases  “The Big Blur”—erases the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college and creates new structures and systems that would better serve 16-to-20-year-olds.

These new structures would be neither
high schools nor community colleges,
but entirely new configurations that
open the opportunity for all students to
start on a path toward a postsecondary
credential and prepare for a career—free of
charge.

Georgetown Report that examines the link between postsecondary field of study and labor market segregation using an original quantitative analysis. This report presents four principles and corresponding recommendations that postsecondary institutions and policymakers can use to reduce racial and gender segregation across fields of study, increase degree attainment, and ultimately, ameliorate labor market segregation.

The University of North Carolina System has launched its Common Numbering System, a database to help undergraduate students better plan their education and ensure successful transfer of course credits.

The CNS is a comprehensive listing of over 1,600 undergraduate, lower-level courses from institutions within both the UNC and N.C. Community College systems. Courses are searchable in an online database, allowing students, advisers, registrars and others to identify credits that will easily transfer between community colleges and UNC System institutions.

Check out this fantastic resource that Harry Channing at MIT made detailing his process applying and getting into graduate school. While this is not specific to any one student population, it is a very concise and detailed resource applicable to many interested in attending graduate school.

This report showcases research that impedes students in their educational jounrney from high school through college all the way to their career. It shows that only the “Fortunate Fifth” complete this transition smoothly.

This article provides a brief history and examples of how foundations such as the Carnegie Foundation have shaped the trajectory of Education in the U.S.

The Canopy project is designed to address this challenge by building collective knowledge about a diverse set of innovative learning environments. Launched by the Christensen Institute in 2018, the project is a collaborative effort involving hundreds of organizations and schools, stewarded by Transcend and the Center on Reinventing Public Education (CRPE). 

Part of The Canopy project allows education leaders, school designers, and researchers to explore how a diverse set of learning environments describe their innovative designs.