Jeans-to-bag: Promoting education, environmental sustainability in rural communities

The Recyclearn Initiative is a Nigerian nonprofit that arranges for students to work with its team members in collecting plastic to sell to recycling companies. The profits provide school materials to students in need.

The University of Texas at El Paso, among other universities such as Princeton or Georgia State, are making concerted efforts to ensure the success of their first generation or low-income students in a student body that is 80% Hispanic. They use outreach efforts to connect with parents and get them familiar with the college environment, offer summer orientations to get new students familiar with campus resources, and simplify their application process to reduce the paperwork and offer support in the process. For many first generation students, their family's support is key to their success in college.

Schools in Adamawa State are increasing the number of female teachers, which is inherently increasing the number of female students attending school. Previously, over 50% of girls in the area had not been in school, or dropped out, but with the increase of female teachers, the number of girls in school has dramatically increased.

The KNOSK secondary school is working to reduce the number of out-of-school youth in Nigeria by providing students with a quality education for a daily fee much lower than other school options. The school offers various payment plan options and gives the students uniforms, lunch, and sanitary products.

A startup in Germany created an online platform, Cirplus, that connects recycling companies with manufacturers and distributors in the plastic industry. The site encourages the move towards a circular economy by improving transparency for buyers and sellers.

The School of Special Needs ensures students with disabilities have equal access to education by making attending school more accessible. Students who attend the school have their fees paid for and are also provided with helpful resources like guiding canes and special typewriters for those with vision impairments.

A family outreach and assessment coordinator for a school district in Vermont helps families experiencing homelessness get connected to services to address their needs and keep the children on track with their education.

Lagos' Project Zero program worked with teachers, youth organizations, and other groups in the education space to reach out to parents of students who had dropped out of school during the pandemic. The program provided them with school kits including everything they needed to re-enroll, such as books, uniforms, shoes, and other supplies.

A nonprofit in Lithuania is providing resources for children from the Roma community in order to decrease the rate of students who drop out of school early. The historically-marginalized group faces social stigmas and economic challenges. A day center offers a space to participate in extracurricular activities and volunteers also visit children who skip school with offers of homework help. Their efforts have resulted in a gradual increase of Roma children who stay in school.

In order to keep track of students and prevent them from dropping out, the Nashville district created “Navigators.” A corps of 5,600 school employees- teachers, lunchroom workers, and bookkeepers, who track students through weekly phone and video calls. The navigators have “completed roughly 220,000 calls to parents and students since school started in August,” each with a caseload of 6 to 12 students. Their conversations have led from everything to helping students complete assignments, to buying groceries, to finding out students are homeless.