Young Nigerians choose to fight Boko Haram with books

A new coalition of nonprofits is working to change the way corporations and philanthropists think about disaster assistance. Most efforts and money funnel to communities in the early days and weeks after a disaster, while very little goes toward long term recovery efforts. The coalition has created a framework to guide more effective assistance to minimize waste and get appropriate resources to communities when they need them.

Studies have shown the myriad benefits of dual enrollment programs. Culpeper, Virginia leaders are trying to adapt the 60-year-old model to serve more low income and minority high schoolers. By expanding it to include career and technical education credits and involve businesses in curriculum development, the district is hoping to level the playing field. Adam Love noted, “Any time you have a program that’s really good – if you’re providing it only to those students who can afford it or who are already excelling, you’re only going to worsen the gap among students rather than use that tool to reduce it."

A housing project overseen by the Salvatorian convent in Kandy, Sri Lanka has built basic homes for more than 200 families from different religious backgrounds. The project relies on funding from donors and ongoing community support to construct the houses, which are seen as a tool for promoting "total empowerment of the family."

The Nisaika Kum’tuks and Tsawalk learning centers provide alternative schooling options for Indigenous students to learn more about their culture and languages. The centers teach a total of 100 students from 23 different nations, many of whom come from single-family homes that are experiencing economic hardship or have been part of the foster care system. While the schools have recently shut down to be consolidated with the local school system, efforts are underway to create a new learning center that continues the mission of combining traditional knowledge and culture with academia.

A program developed in Boston's public schools works with students who have missed many days of school as a result of mental health challenges to transition back into the classroom. By providing academic and emotional support, trained counselors encourage students to continue their education.

There is a unique, homegrown local flood buyout program in Charlotte, NC that helps homeowners on floodplains relocate safely and with financial security. This came as a result of the city and county of Charlotte forming a joint storm water utility in the 1990's, which generated money by fixing aging pipes and other storm water needs—funding the local “Quick Buy” program. This gets the aid to the homeowners much quicker than FEMA money does and has since relocated 650 families and saved $25 million in losses.

Two colleges in Kentucky don't charge tuition and haven't for decades. Work study programs, endowments designed to reduce the cost of tuition, and private donations for campus buildings help to offset the costs of a college degree.

In a former mining county in Kentucky, a high school principal is leveraging partnerships and raising expectations to both encourage students to complete high school and pursue college classes and to stay to work in the county. The school now boasts a 99 percent graduation rate and new programs to attract high-quality teachers.

As enrollments decline and finances increasingly pose problems, institutions of higher education are taking a number of creative approaches, chief among them, merging with other schools and accelerating degree program timelines.

In Kalamazoo, Michigan, a donor paid for all students to attend college in state free of charge. The program is now expanding beyond monetary aid to offer guidance and additional resources to students who drop out of college or never start college.