There is a battle between getting back to in-person learning or extending virtual learning across the country in media. It has become a divide where parents and teachers are trying to figure out what is best. Teacher safety is being neglected, and parents are concerned about the ramifications of their child being stuck at home.

I sit down with Nolberto Delgadillo, Chief Financial Officer at Tulsa Public Schools, and Principal Derek McCoy to discuss what is next in their districts and how they look at their digital tools.

No one’s chances for economic mobility should come down to a coin flip. A new research study by the Education Strategy Group (ESG) estimates that there are at least 7,000 “coin flip” high schools where if you are Black, Hispanic, or from a low-income family, your chance of proceeding into higher education directly after high school is less than 50 percent. I sat down with Ryan Reyna Senior Director of Education Strategy Group and lead author in this new research (http://edstrategy.org/resource/from-t...) to understand the importance of getting post-secondary data in the hands of teachers and principals. I also highlight GEAR UP which helps communities increase low-income students' enrollment into college and is focused on helping districts track students' post-secondary success. The grant is required and held accountable to track students after their freshman year of college and showcase that students are entering their sophomore year of college at higher rates. GEAR UP is instrumental in providing communities, states, and the Department of Education important data that otherwise would not be recorded and tracked. Today, in fact, starts the beginning of National GEAR UP week which creates awareness and highlights the communities who have been directly impacted by the growth in college graduation rates across the country. #graduation #enrollment #educationpolicy

Some families are not convinced that virtual schooling and zoom classrooms are effective, so they are taking matters into their own hands by starting PANDEMIC PODS. On this Week in Education, I sit down with research fellow Yenda Prado and explore how pandemic pods work and if school districts should be worried about this new learning model.

-------------------------------------------

Student Success Agency is a digital student support platform powered by human connection. SSA partners with middle schools and high schools to reimagine support services for students and administrators working and learning in a digital world. The platform is built to increase student engagement, expand staff reach and impact, and optimize the school day. We designed our proprietary digital platform to give students a safe and secure space to:

• Ask for help • Receive mentoring
• Brainstorm and share ideas
• Collaborate with a thought partner Supercharge your student success network at https://www.studentsuccess.co.

Blog & Social Media
https://www.twitter.com/agents4teens
https://www.instagram.com/studentsucc...
https://medium.com/@studentsuccess  
----------------------------------------------------- 

The first day of school is going to look different and the start of school for many districts will be this week after Labor Day. Your host, EJ Carrion visits a school in rural Nebraska to be a part of their first day of school 100% in person. He shares what he learns.

I sit down with Marc Busko a teacher in the Kenosha area who is preparing to start school this week. We talk about how what happens in Kenosha and how it impacts the first day of school. Please like, subscribe, and share with an educator.

One of my first big memories while starting my freshman year in college was being invited to a frat party during my first week on campus. As a small town kid from Texas experiencing a frat party was a transformational moment. It was legit, just like the movies --- packed rooms, sharing drinks, and unclean restrooms. Bats from China may have started the virus but Frats from America might ignite the second wave.

The World Health Organization last week announced that young people are emerging as main spreaders of the coronavirus, a worrisome trend experts fear may grow in the United States as more colleges begin to open.

This is not just about the frats and sororities -- this is also about the travel between states that have it under control and states that have kids from high risk areas arriving on campus.

The Wall Street Journal  took enrollment data from fall of 2018 to get an idea of travel patterns from students who choose to go out of state

 What their research showed was that as many as 77,000 first-year students left states where the virus is now more prevalent to go to college in states now at lower-risk. New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Massachusetts are the low-risk states whose schools draw the most freshmen from states now considered high-risk, or have reported more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people within the past two weeks.

So as these new students come on campus looking to make new friends and connections they become interested in meeting people and oftentimes the first option to do that is through Greek Life. 

Early August, a new Netflix docu-series came out called Immigration Nation, which sounds like a documentary of our founding fathers who migrated from Europe to create this beautiful country. Instead, it's more about ICE finding fathers and separating them from their children.

The series wakes you up to a sobering inside look at ICE, our Immigration Customs Enforcement system, and what migrant families face when looking for a better life in America. One of the issues the docuseries sheds light on is how the lives of kids are affected by the system. As educators we have these kids in our classrooms, schools, and communities therefore after watching the docuseries, I wanted to talk about the systems that limit these students to continue their education today.

In the last few years, the term “DREAMer” has been used to describe these undocumented children who were brought to the United States, who have lived and gone to school here, and whose families have big hopes and dreams for them to have a better future. The term DREAMer originally took its name from the bill in Congress. It’s an acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act that would have granted legal status for these children. Several versions of the bill have been introduced in Congress since 2001 but it has never passed.

Kind of like a kidney stone...

After the DREAM Act did not pass in Congress several times, President Obama issued an executive order called the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals or famously known as (DACA) which should not get confused with DECA where privileged kids get to start their campaign trail to future CEOs and politicians.

That joke might get me canceled 

Speaking of cancel culture, Trump administration is canceling everything. It’s canceling TikTok, canceling taxes for corporations but what I really want to talk about is them canceling new applications for DACA.

Why?

Well on September 5, 2017, the Trump Administration ordered to end the entire DACA program. This was led by Jeff Sessions who also got canceled by Trump and lost Alabama's Republican primary for Senate after being an Alabama Senator for 20 years.

DACA enables hundreds of thousands of young people who came to the U.S. as children and met several key guidelines. It allows non-U.S. citizens who qualify to remain in the country for two years. Recipients are eligible for work authorization and other benefits like a driver's license and are shielded from deportation.

In June of this year, the Supreme Court finally made a decision that blocked the Trump administration from ending the DACA program altogether.

One of my colleagues Rubi Franco Quiroz who is Head of Impact at Student Success Agency was a DACA recipient. I zoomed with Rubi to get her thoughts and personal story about DACA.

This Week in Education we talk COVID-19 Slide and speak with the Haslam Foundation to talk about the Tennessee Tutoring Corps. Make sure to subscribe as every week we share new topics and trends in education.