Making life meaningful for the physically challenged

A teacher in San Diego took matters into her own hands when she couldn't find a social justice curriculum tailored to students with disabilities. That’s partly why she created what she calls the “Social Justice League,” a group of students at her school who meet weekly by Zoom and discuss a variety of issues, such as Native American land, gender privilege, the representation of disabilities in the media and systemic racism.

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 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.

Tutoring has a longstanding reputation of being an effective measure in helping students stay on-track with their school subjects, but it also costs money. Schools around the U.S. are considering ways to stretch their budgets to extend tutoring to as many students as possible. Increasing group numbers per tutor, using stipend-funded volunteers, and non-certified teachers rather than certified tutors, and making tutoring a class-time activity are some of the ways schools could help support students and avoid learning losses, while taking limited budgets into account.

Research is recognizing that to help women graduate from career programs additional supports and services are needed such as child care, domestic violence aid and emergency cash assistance. Programs, such as The Brighton Center, provide systems of support where students can list additional supports they need and receive the help they need to graduate.

The Communities in Schools program (CIS) places trained navigators in low-income schools to provide wraparound social support, helping students and families access public benefits, cover emergency expenses, provide behavioral counseling and address barriers that prevent students from succeeding academically. The non-profit has been helping students for 50 years, serving 2 million children across 26 states, and has seen significant academic and economic outcomes, including increasing high school graduation and college enrollment rates.

Educational Talent Search provides personalized college and career counseling to first-generation and low-income students. Counselors work with students from 8th grade through high school graduation, offering one-on-one support with college applications, financial aid forms, scholarship searches, and career planning. The program has seen nearly 90% of seniors enrolling in post-secondary education, far above its 56% target.

Self-directed learning centers in Massachusetts, such as North Star, provide an alternative for students who don't thrive in traditional schools. These centers allow homeschooled students to pursue their own interests through optional classes, tutoring, and community activities, with no mandatory attendance or standardized curriculum requirements. North Star has operated successfully for 30 years, growing from a handful of students to 65 expected enrollees in the coming school year.

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.

Before DOGE cut the program’s funding, Charting My Path for Future Success was helping students with disabilities learn ways to successfully transition from high school to college or the working world with greater self-sufficiency. Before it was canceled, 1,600 high school juniors enrolled in the program, learning how to set goals, take care of themselves and build their confidence and self-determination skills.