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“Cataclysmic” — that’s how one researcher described the recently reported drop in U.S. college enrollment. “With the exception of wartime,” he observed, “the United States has never been through a period of declining educational attainment like this.” 

That decline received extensive media coverage — far more than another cataclysm in the higher education system that’s gone unaddressed for years: Among the third of full-time U.S. students who attend two-year community colleges, more than 70 percent fail to finish their degrees.  

That’s millions of students who begin higher education, only to stop midway through. In total time and resources wasted, and in human potential unfulfilled, this community college dropout problem is a striking national challenge.

Recent research from the nonprofit research organization MDRC points to a solution. MDRC studied a program instituted by three Ohio community colleges — Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cuyahoga Community College, and Lorain County Community College. These institutions adopted the Accelerated Study in Associates Program, or ASAP, a model conceived by the City University of New York (CUNY) in 2007.  

Students enroll in a full course load, plus developmental education courses and summer classes. In exchange, students receive wraparound services to help get them over the graduation finish line, including tuition fee waivers, transportation benefits, and book subsidies. 

Students also receive intense advisory support. An average community college advisor has 441 advisees; in the ASAP program, an advisor serves roughly 150 students. The ASAP advisors are assigned to students upon enrollment, and they stay with them throughout their time at college. They meet with students at least twice a month at the start of their schooling and keep in frequent touch via texting. They help students choose the right courses, connect to necessary resources, and adapt to student life. 

The research shows that high-touch engagement of this kind makes a powerful difference. Unlike most students at selective institutions, first-time students at two-year community colleges face a distinct set of challenges. Many are older and have children, and they’re often juggling work and parenting responsibilities alongside their studies. They also face higher rates of housing, food, and medical insecurity — all of which contribute to lower degree completion rates. 

When MDRC researchers first tested the ASAP pilot program at CUNY in 2015, the results were promising: After three years, 40 percent of ASAP students graduated, compared with just 22 percent of the rest of the student population. Six years later, those ASAP students kept outperforming the control group, with more than half earning degrees, compared to 40 percent of non-ASAP students.

The program didn’t just get students to graduation day — it helped them earn more money as alumni. Among student participants, there was a 50 percent increase in graduation rates and an 11 percent boost to post-graduation earnings.  

Just as exciting, an adapted version of the program aimed at increasing completion for students in a four-year program also delivered impressive results. Researchers found that the program achieved a 27 percent increase in on-time bachelor’s degree graduation rate. 

The fact that these programs found results in multiple campuses is a big deal. What the latest Ohio findings mean is that the CUNY pilot program’s success wasn’t a fluke or a one-off: Support programs like this can be used on college campuses across the country to meaningfully Strengthen graduation rates. What’s more, the benefits aren’t just measurable in diplomas framed on the wall: ASAP students saw higher wages in the workforce, too. 

Washington should take notice. To put it in D.C. parlance, this is a shovel-ready program that actually delivers. Policymakers ought to support it — and other evidence-based programs like it — with additional funding. 

The Biden administration proposed significant investments in evidence-based college completion efforts in the original Build Back Better plan. And in 2022, with broad bipartisan support, Congress established Postsecondary Student Success Grants. While the program received only $5 million last year, Congress increased that funding nine-fold to $45 million for 2023. But like all policy programs, that funding is at risk in an era of tighter budgets and competing priorities.  

Unlike many other programs, though, wraparound college completion efforts have a proven, data-backed track record. They’ve consistently produced astonishing results across multiple contexts, providing students both college degrees and better long-term livelihoods. And if Washington is serious about addressing the nation’s college attainment cataclysm, programs like ASAP are a solution that deserve public support. 

Kelly McManus is vice president of higher education at Arnold Ventures. Shrutika Sabarwal is director of evidence-based policy at Arnold Ventures.  

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Over the past several months, I’ve been pelted with the same question over and over again: “If America’s public education system is broken, what should our education system look like?”

In the education reform and school choice movements, we often reply that education is “whatever you as the parent want it to look like,” yet this, while true enough, is an inadequate response. Parents, teachers, and society as a whole need a vision of what we could be moving toward—not just away from. 

We education policy and pedagogy wonks love to spend hours poring over education policies and proposals that shape statewide approaches to everything from tax and financial frameworks to cultural edicts on social-emotional learning, critical race theory, and LGBTQ+ sexualization of children.

We spend far too little time with “boots on the ground” observing what does and doesn’t work in the day-to-day classroom, which often affects students far more than this year’s slate of state education policies.

I’ve spent the past few years visiting hundreds of different schools with dozens of different education styles. From charter schools that are public schools with a corporate coat of paint to Hasidic homeschool cooperatives that teach all subjects at once, and every other kind of school in between.

Almost all of those schools have a bevy of problems to overcome: Hundreds of thousands of American students are woefully behind on memorizing and math; behavioral problems have reached crisis points for students and teachers alike; a teacher-to-student ratio that’s often much too large; and a lack of communication between the home and the classroom has stressed cooperation at the expense of the student. 

Some of the most potent salves to soothe these wounds have reemerged in the form of classical and highly individualized education settings. 

Classical education, which sharpens the expectations of every student under tried-and-true curriculums, has become enormously popular in the past few years as students have made up considerable ground in literacy and math fluency under the tutelage of those environments. 

Homeschooling and microschooling have also seen a major resurgence in popularity among all demographics. It’s difficult to imagine a more individualized and personal education approach—with those who have the most intimate knowledge of their kids’ strengths and weaknesses leading their instruction. 

Unfortunately, not every parent is able to make the sacrifices necessary to homeschool, with financial, career, and time constraints keeping the option out of reach. A quality classical education, too, is restricted by the lack of infrastructure prepared to facilitate it to large numbers of students. We simply don’t have the number of classically trained teachers and appropriate environments to meet the demand.

These natural restrictions can be solved by a method of education that is not only a well-tested practice over the past 3,000 years, but is already sufficiently staffed with a host of experts we might tap into for instructors: the master/apprentice model.

The master/apprentice model involves a seasoned professional, or “master,” taking on an inexperienced student, or “apprentice,” to teach him the skills and knowledge required for a specific trade or profession. This model has proven to be incredibly effective in a wide variety of industries, from carpentry to medicine.

Once a student reached a societally accepted level of literacy in reading, math, history, and science, he would “take on” with a master in a trade or academic field. This master would train up one to a few apprentices every day—employing the same “teaching by observing and doing” that parents used with daily tasks throughout toddlerhood.

This application allows for an expertise in a specific trade while garnering secondary skills via necessity, rather than simply learning from textbooks and lectures. This hands-on experience is invaluable and can make all the difference when it comes to securing employment after graduation.

Additionally, the mentorship provided by a master allows for a more personalized approach to learning. The master can provide one-on-one guidance, tailoring the teaching to the specific strengths and weaknesses of the apprentice. This not only improves the apprentice’s overall understanding of the subject matter, but also fosters a sense of camaraderie and mentorship that lasts a lifetime.

We already use this master/apprentice model in postsecondary environments to great effect. Almost every teacher will tell you that his or her time as a student teacher, working under an experienced classroom instructor, taught him or her far more than undergraduate lectures. The same has been echoed for ages when nurses and doctors recall their time in clinicals.

The trades have retained the structure and nomenclature of the master/apprentice model. It’s no small wonder that the trades turn around new journeymen (the apprentices that have graduated from young, fumble-fingers days) more quickly than most other professions.

Moreover, the master/apprentice model is a win-win situation for both parties involved. The apprentice gains valuable knowledge and experience, while the master has the opportunity to pass on his or her expertise to the next generation of professionals. This can also lead to a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment for the master, knowing that he or she is contributing to the growth and success of his or her industry.

Is this a catchall solution? Absolutely not. It’s a vision of what education in the United States could be, based on readily available data that shows a high success rate at solving many of our teaching and learning problems—and is therefore something that should be advertised to parents and policymakers alike. 

In an era in which we are finally able to move beyond calling for school choice and education freedom policies, it’s time to focus our efforts toward painting a picture of what learning could look like. Classical education, homeschooling, microschooling, and the master/apprentice models are the answer.

Have an opinion about this article? To sound off, please email letters@DailySignal.com and we’ll consider publishing your edited remarks in our regular “We Hear You” feature. Remember to include the url or headline of the article plus your name and town and/or state.

FIRST ON FOX: An education equity group financed by tens of millions of dollars from Bill Gates maintains a direct pipeline to the Biden administration to push its liberal policy initiatives, documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show.

The Education Trust, which works to "disrupt systems of inequity," enjoys close access to top Education Department officials, emails reveal. The communication further shows the group works alongside progressive policy pushers like the George Soros-backed Governing for Impact, which in internal memos boasted of implementing dozens of its regulatory agenda items during President Biden's tenure.

"It should concern all Americans when outside organizations create a roadmap to subvert the legislative process, encouraging significant policy changes to be enacted through executive fiat," Parents Defending Education president Nicole Neilly told Fox News Digital. "To do so deliberately undermines the checks and balances established by the founders – and it is one of the many reasons that the administrative state must be brought to heel."

The Education Trust focuses on pre-K through 12 endeavors with research and local, state and federal advocacy. An internal email obtained by Fox News Digital illustrates its proximity to Biden's administration for its national initiatives. 

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In February 2021, Education Trust's director of government affairs, Reid Setzer, messaged four Education Department officials: Suzanne Goldberg, the deputy assistant secretary for strategic operations and outreach; Jessica Cardichon, then-deputy assistant secretary for P-12 in the Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development; Ian Rosenblum, then-deputy assistant secretary for policy and programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and Donna Harris-Aikens, who was a senior adviser for policy and planning before becoming deputy chief of staff for strategy in the Office of the Secretary. 

"Hi Jessica, Donna, Ian, and Suzanne. Hope you're well!" Setzer wrote. "We wanted to reach out to share a non-public strategic memo written by the National Women's Law Center, Governing for Impact, and Ed Trust on how the Biden administration can best reinstate and strengthen guidance on school discipline and resource equity. Please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or concerns, and let us know how we can best work alongside you as you begin any internal processes in the space!"

Setzer attached a 22-page proposed action memorandum from the groups, which, among other things, spoke of how the "presence of police in schools clearly has a disparate impact based on race" and a recommendation to "incorporate into the guidance package how police presence in schools may constitute a Title VI violation."

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Several of Education Trust's former employees have also made their way to the Education Department as political appointees, including Office of Postsecondary Education senior adviser Jennifer Engle; Office of Elementary and Secondary Education special assistant Sarah Mehrotra; Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development special assistant Kayla Patrick; and Secretary Miguel Cardona's director of speechwriting and editorial content Tiffany Taber, according to a list of Biden administration appointments. 

The White House has also referenced The Education Trust in fact sheets, including on how the administration is "advancing education equity."

"Since our inception more than two decades ago, Ed Trust has pushed policymakers – no matter their political affiliation – to do what's right for students. And we have and will continue to do so in a nonpartisan way," an Education Trust spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

"We have proudly worked with every administration to advocate for policies and practices that advance the educational outcomes of our nation's most underserved youth," the spokesperson said. "Students from low-income backgrounds and students of color have had great Democrat and Republican champions – leaders who stood up for them and the quality of education they deserve when others wouldn't. We will continue to work with whoever is in office until every student in this country gets the education in which they are entitled."

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Established in 1996, the Washington, D.C., headquartered Education Trust works to "advance policies and practices to dismantle the racial and economic barriers embedded in the American education system" through research and advocacy, according to its website. 

The group receives vast support from Bill Gates. Since June 2020, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funneled more than $25 million into its efforts, records show.

"We've supported The Education Trust for more than two decades due to our shared goal of improving academic outcomes for students in K-12 and higher education and ensuring schools and colleges can serve all students," a Gates Foundation spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

Gates has received criticism in the past for using his substantial wealth to reshape the American education system, particularly with the controversial Common Core education initiative. 

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Other Education Trust funders include the WK Kellogg Foundation ($8.8 million since 2017), Wallace Foundation (more than $1 million since 2016), and Soros' Open Society Foundations ($200,000 since 2018).

Meanwhile, Soros nonprofits bankroll Governing for Impact, one of the policy groups that co-wrote the memo attached to The Education's Trust email to the Education Department officials.

Records show that the billionaire's Foundation to Promote Open Society has funneled nearly $10 million to Governing for Impact since 2019. Additionally, the Open Society Policy Center, his advocacy nonprofit, sent $7.45 million to its action fund during that time. 

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Governing for Impact launched with a vision of preparing the Biden administration for a "transformative governance" and produced "more than 60 in-depth, shovel-ready regulatory recommendations" for dozens of federal agencies," a now-deleted job advertisement on Harvard Law School's website read.

The group has boasted in internal memos of implementing more than 20 of its regulatory agenda items as they work with the administration to reverse Trump-era deregulations by focusing on education, health care, housing, labor and environmental issues, Fox News Digital previously reported. 

They have also prepared legal policy memos for at least 10 federal departments and agencies and 10 administrative law primers as of 2021, according to an internal slideshow from the group.

The Education Department did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment on The Education Trust or its work with outside groups.

Washington CNN  — 

The pause on federal student loan payments is still set to end later this year, Education Secretary Miguel Cardona confirmed this week.

The pandemic-related pause has been in place for more than three years and has been extended eight times – even sometimes after the Biden administration declared the latest extension was final.

But Cardona reiterated Tuesday that the current timeline remains in place. It ties the restart date to litigation over the administration’s separate, one-time student loan forgiveness program, which has been taken up by the Supreme Court.

Payments are set to resume 60 days after the Supreme Court issues its ruling, or 60 days after June 30 – whichever comes first. The justices are expected to rule in late June or early July, but a decision could come earlier.

“We communicated that after the Supreme Court decision is made, loan repayments will start within 60 days of the decision,” Cardona said when pressed during a hearing held by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce Tuesday.

If the Biden administration is allowed to move forward with the loan forgiveness program, low-and middle-income borrowers may be eligible for up to $20,000 in debt relief before payments restart.

Last week, Cardona also confirmed the restart date at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.

“We are committed to making sure that once a decision is made, that we are going to resume payments 60 days after. But no later than June 30, we’re going to begin that process,” he said.

When the pause ends, roughly 44 million people will have to restart making payments on their federal student loans, and there is some concern about whether the process will go smoothly.

Many people may be confused about how much they owe, when to pay and how. Millions of borrowers will have a different servicer handling their student loans since the last time they made a payment. Missing payments can result in monetary fees.

Congress appropriated the Federal Student Aid office about $800 million less than what the Biden administration had asked for this year, keeping the office’s operating budget the same as last year even though there will be more work to do. Some student loan servicers have recently cut back on customer service hours, adding to the fear of a bumpy return to repayment.

“We recognize that our borrowers need information. And they need a long on-ramp because it has been three years,” Cardona said last week.

“We do plan on making sure it’s a smooth reentry to repayment, and we’re prepared at FSA to provide the support that students need,” he added.

Student loan experts recommend that borrowers reach out to their student loan servicer with any questions about their loans as soon as possible, especially if they are interested in enrolling in an income-driven repayment plan. Those plans, which set payments based on income and family size, can lower monthly payments but require borrowers to submit some paperwork.

Federal student loan borrowers can check the FSA website for updates on resuming payments.

RIDGEWOOD, NJ – Ridgewood Schools Director of Special Programs Michelle Fenwick has been named the 2023 Special Education Administrator of the Year by the NJ Association of School Administrators, the NJ Association of Pupil Services Administrators and Frontline Education.

This award recognizes a Special Education Administrator who has demonstrated outstanding leadership in providing services to students with disabilities and whose work reflects the highest professional and ethical standards.

The award was presented on May 17 at the NJASA/NJAPSA Spring Leadership Conference in Atlantic City, NJ.

Read More Education News:

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