Today's Students, Tomorrow's Talent

To understand the impact of COVID-19 on communities across the nation, we talk with three guests responsible for responding to student needs and preparing for recovery. Guests include: Cathy Longstreet, a high school counselor from Hastings, Mich.; Chancellor Juan Salgado who leads the City Colleges of Chicago; and Dr. Harrison Keller, the Commissioner for Higher Education in Texas.

Education in the United States uses time as a measurement for learning. My guests talk about changing this paradigm to value knowledge, skills, and abilities over how long it takes to learn. Dr. Charla Long of the Competency-Based Education Network, Natalie Schwartz of Education Dive, and Dr. Zainab Okolo of Lumina Foundation discuss the current state of competency-based education.

37 million adults in the United States have some college credit but have yet to earn a degree. The first step in re-engaging these adults is to listen and learn from them. On today's show, I am joined by Johnathan Williams and Charletta Thomas, two people who returned to school to complete their degree.

College affordability, education for justice-impacted populations, the continued growth of mega-universities and the closure of small institutions are some of the issues likely to dominate education policy and generate headlines in 2020. Jesse O'Connell, strategy director for federal policy at Lumina Foundation, shares his six higher ed predictions for 2020.

For over half a century, the SAT has been used by colleges and universities in admissions decisions. A lawsuit filed in December 2019 against the University of California system challenges this long held practice, calling the use of SAT scores in admission decisions illegal, discriminatory, and unconstitutional. On today's show, we are joined by Elissa Nadworny, reporter and editor for NPR's Education team who has been following the lawsuit. We are also joined by Dr. Elaine Allensworth from the UChicago Consortium on School Research, who recently wrote a paper showing a student's grades are four times more predictive of college success than standardized exam scores.

Chambers of commerce can be a champion in education and business, and a growing subset of the roughly 4,000 chambers across the United States are doing just that. Today we talk with David Rattray of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Paola Santana at Lumina Foundation about the growing movement of chamber-led education initiatives. On segment two of the show, our recurring guest Jesse O'Connell joins us to review the most recent Democratic Presidential Debate.

Three new reports highlight what's going well and what we need to fix to meet tomorrow's education and workforce needs. Joe Parilla from the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program discusses how economic development organizations can catalyze education and workforce training programs around the country. Julie Ajinkya and Leanne Davis from the Institute for Higher Education Policy share insights on four partnerships boosting college enrollment and completion rates for youth and adults in rural communities. Finally, Margaret Cahalan and Laura Perna, authors of the latest Equity Indicators report, discuss how Pell funding has not kept up with demand.

Service members leave the military with substantial training and education, but very little of that knowledge and experience counts in higher education. Our guests today include Navy veterans who shared their experiences and advice in navigating higher education, and leaders of organizations focused on improving outcomes for service members and veterans across the country. Guests: Lauren Runco, Lumina Foundation; Tanya Ang, Veterans for Education Success; Brandon Nivens, US Navy Veteran; Michele Poitier, US Navy Veteran; John Sullivan, US Navy Veteran.

Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League, believes that community-based education providers are critical to America's success. Morial shares his thoughts on how greater attention and investment in community-based programs can address structural racism and produce the talent America needs. Also joining this episode is Dr. Jasmine Haywood, who shares lessons from the field on operationalizing equity.

Lumina Foundation's President and CEO Jamie Merisotis returns from sabbatical with fresh ideas and reflections about America's future. We talk about what he learned while abroad, what climate change can teach us about talent development, and whether we are talking about the right issues in the 2020 election.