Bringing a Charter School Approach to college

http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2015/03/26/bringing-charter-school-approach-college/CPSqaG8MEkfs589yEnGc3O/story.html

Amy Crawford

The Boston Globe

28 March 2015

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There are many reasons why a student might leave university without graduating. Match Beyond helps students who dropped out of college finally receive their degree through personal counselors who make sure that the students are fulfilling all the necessary things in order to graduate.

Crowdfunding Clean Energy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/crowd-funding-clean-energy

David Bornstein

The New York Times

6 March 2013

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In Oakland, a company created an online crowdfunding platform that allows users to earn interest by financing clean energy projects and gives people with good social intentions a direct line of action. Across the world, there is a growing movement toward people-powered clean energy.

Fewer dropouts, more degrees: How Walla Walla Community College does it

http://seattletimes.com/html/education/2023636445_edlabwallawallaxml.html

Katherine Long

The Seattle Times

17 May 2014

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Individualized advice and counseling, boosted by software tools, is helping hundreds more students earn degrees and certificates each year at Walla Walla Community College in Washington.

For Striving Students, a Connection to Money

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/the-system-when-it-works

Tina Rosenberg

The New York Times

26 March 2014

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Government benefits to aid the poor are frequently left unclaimed, leaving children hungry, young people unable to finish school, and opportunities for stable housing and preventative health care unused. New York City-based program Single Stop connects people to benefits for which they may be eligible. Importantly, Single Stop has served community colleges where disadvantaged students can use the assistance to help get through school.

'From stilettos to steel toes:' Can job training fix prison overcrowding and save Alabama money?

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/06/life_skills_classes_vocational.html#incart_river

Kelsey Stein

AL.com (Alabama Media Group)

24 June 2014

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To decrease the chance of formerly incarcerated individuals relapsing and ending up back in the prison system, the J.F. Ingram State Technical College in Alabama offers correctional education and vocational programs. This training has aided those incarcerated with life skills for after their release, decreasing the likelihood that they will relapse and increasing the likelihood that they will better adjust to their community.

Forging and Welding an Education

https://medium.com/bright/forging-and-welding-an-education-1df991e4dabf#.zqa6mqdaq

Peter Willhoite

Bright Magazine

10 September 2015

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In Oakland, a non-profit created an industrial arts education school offering youth an alternative classroom for learning where failure is welcomed and everything is hands on, such as welding and forging. The non-profit, which is known as The Crucible, was founded in 1999, and serves more than 8,000 students per year, all managed by close to 100 faculty members.

Most Bangladeshi garment workers are women, but their union leaders weren't. Until now.

http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-16/most-bangladeshi-garment-workers-are-women-their-union-leaders-werent-until-now

Bruce Wallace

Public Radio International (PRI)

16 September 2015

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

After years of banning labor unions in Bangladesh, garment workers unionized to fight for higher wages and safer working conditions. For women, this isn't traditionally a space they were welcomed in, but now they’re holding their own meetings to ensure women’s safety is ensured on the job.

Open Education for a Global Economy

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/11/open-education-for-a-global-economy

David Bornstein

The New York Times

11 July 2012

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An Irish-based company, ALISON, provides free, high-quality e-courses to people around the globe in order to help close the gap between education and workplace skills. Particularly focused on providing access to areas where more traditional forms of education and job training are difficult to get, this approach is helping to change lives and the economy for the better.

How To Turn Adult Education Into Careers, Quickly

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/02/241897572/how-to-turn-adult-education-into-careers-quickly?sc=tw&cc=share

Kavitha Cardoza

NPR

2 November 2013

Radio / 5-15 Minutes

When adults want to return to school, they face many challenges including the experience of long waitlists for classes, and poor relevance to the job skills they need for future employment. The Washington state community college system has started a program known as Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) that instead teaches in two parts: academic content and basic soft skills.

Improving Economic Diversity at the Better Colleges

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/05/improving-economic-diversity-at-the-better-colleges

Peg Tyre

The New York Times

5 February 2014

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Students with low-income that attend public schools can find themselves locked in a system that prevents them from getting into the best colleges, from being unable to afford tuition, to not having the ambition, to not knowing a school that would welcome them. Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA targets high-performing low-income students. The college provides outreach to high school students in poor communities, financial aid to low-income families, summer workshops, and on-site advising and academic support.