Holiday Housing Insecurity & School District Solutions

Posted January 4, 2019 | By Cooke Foundation Staff

Cooke Scholars at Scholars Weekend 2018

January 4, 2019 – Here’s our weekly roundup of education news you may have missed. Read about how various colleges and universities provide housing (or don’t) to students on campus over winter break. K-12 coverage explores how school districts across the country are addressing rural access to advanced coursework, homelessness, and college planning.

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Elementary & Secondary Education:

  • Education Week publishes two video stories that show how educators in Nome, Alaska are providing educational opportunities to the rural area’s gifted students.
  • Student homelessness and housing insecurity has increased since the Great Recession. Governing discusses how some school districts are trying to strengthen assistance for their students.
  • “The success of home visits has been well documented for infants and has been studied at the elementary and middle school level, but it’s an open question whether these visits make a difference for older students,” states The Hechinger Report. A school district in West Virginia hopes the practice will help students prepare for higher education.

 

Higher Education:

  • The National Center for Education Statistics reports on the most common reasons that students did not complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) in 2013. 29% of students from the lowest socioeconomic status quintile did not complete FAFSA as they or their family believed they were ineligible or may not qualify.
  • Many colleges and universities are currently on winter break, which can mean that campus housing is closed to students who may not be able to go home for financial or personal reasons. The Huffington Post writes that this practice “further exacerbates [students’] feelings of isolation.” Some institutions charge an extra fee to students staying on campus, as the Los Angeles Times reports. WHYY profiles the Promise Program at West Chester University, which provides year-round housing for students who are homeless or aging out of foster care.
  • In Forbes, Martha Kanter celebrates the growing number of tuition-free college promise programs. Over 300 programs in 44 states have served more than one million students.

 

Cooke Foundation Highlights:

  • The Carroll County Times interviews Cooke Graduate Scholar Benjamin Arbaugh, who is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in biological systems engineering at the University of California, Davis. “Before receiving the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation scholarship I would not have thought I would go so far away from home for school, but with the Foundation at my back I’ve been encouraged to think big, work hard and achieve all I can,” said Benjamin.
  • Cooke Scholar Jerry Mathes speaks to the Emerging Writers Network about his recently published collection of short stories.
  • An upcoming performance of A Tango With Mozart will be Cooke Scholar Jennifer Cho’s first performance as featured artist since being appointed as the California Symphony’s concertmaster, reports BroadwayWorld.
  • Former Executive Director Harold O. Levy is remembered in City & State New York.

 

Social Media Spotlight:

Photo header: Cooke Scholars at Scholars Weekend 2018.