The Hechinger Report
4 May 2019
Text / 1500-3000 Words
United States
A growing number of companies are eliminating the phrase "bachelor's degree required" from their job postings. The Hechinger Report explores how companies such as Houghton Mifflin have shifted their hiring practices in recent years to emphasize applicants' skills rather than degrees with help from organizations like Resilient Coders, which offer software engineering and web development bootcamps for people of color.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/03/27/the-destructive-influence-of-imaginary-peers
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
27 March 2013
Text / 1500-3000 Words
People grossly overestimate how much their peers are drinking, having unprotected sex and getting fat. Instead of exaggerating the problem, the best way to get people to take care of themselves is to bust that myth and tell them the truth: most people behave well.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/02/armed-with-data-fighting-more-than-crime
Tina Rosenberg
The New York Times
2 May 2012
Text / 800-1500 Words
CitiStat has show great success in cities like Baltimore, where it has improved city services' efficiency (removing snow, fixing potholes, etc.). Many cities use Stat programs, but Baltimore has been a particular case of success. Looking at how it implemented its CitiStat program holds lessons for other cities.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/boston-theres-an-app-for-that-107661.html#.VYml6PlViko
Ben Schreckinger
Politico
10 June 2014
Text / Over 3000 Words
Boston had a hard time solving civic problems efficiently and holding its leadership accountable. In response, a team in the Mayor's office was charged with "making Boston better through clever, low-cost hacks" such as a mobile app that allows residents to send government service requests to City Hall.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/02/education/edlife/demystifying-the-mooc.html
Jeffrey Selingo
The New York Times
29 October 2014
Text / 800-1500 Words
The creators of online classes hoped to provide quality education to the disadvantaged but have instead created an international supplement to classroom learning and tool for professional development.
http://www.seattletimes.com/education/from-slipping-through-the-cracks-to-the-college-track
Claudia Rowe
The Seattle Times
14 April 2014
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The Rainier Scholars program in Seattle places fifth graders, who are all minorities, in special coursework through middle and high school, finally offering rigorous college coaching. In Oakland, CA, the National College Advising Corps directs recent graduates into schools to be role models and guides for at-risk students.
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
Text / 800-1500 Words
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.
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2012/12/13/ground-level-latino-connections-torch
Elizabeth Baier
Minnesota Public Radio
12 December 2013
Radio / 5-15 Minutes
Minnesota schools began a comprehensive program aimed at assisting children of minority groups to successfully navigate the college application process and push them towards higher education.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/making-the-text-to-mom-connection
David Bornstein
The New York Times
11 February 2011
Text / 1500-3000 Words
Text4baby is a free service that sends text messages to pregnant women, and new mothers to provide them with useful tips to keep themselves and their babies healthy. This solution involves many different types of organizations such as for-profit health care providers, nonprofit community groups, wireless carriers, and government agencies. This program shows how you get a country — with all its diverse institutional strengths — to work as a team.
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.
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/30/instead-of-student-loans-investing-in-futures
David Bornstein
The New York Times
30 May 2011
Text / 1500-3000 Words
For millions of students who could succeed in college, the limiting factor is money. Is it possible to finance higher education the way we finance start-up companies? A company called Lumni uses “human capital contracts” to offer loans for students contingent upon 14 percent of the student's salary for 118 months after graduation. There are risks to this approach and not a lot of years or data available to be sure of its efficacy, but results are promising already—with a default rate under 3 percent.
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