Daily Lumina News 011321

Lumina Foundation has released the first grants from a $15 million Racial Justice and Equity Fund to national and Indianapolis-based organizations that focus on eradicating systemic racism in fields aligning with or complementing the foundation’s work.
“In the wake of George Floyd's brutal death in police custody last year, Lumina reaffirmed our commitment to the Racial Justice and Equity Fund and pledged to support efforts to dismantle systemic racism,” says Danette Howard, senior vice president and chief policy officer at Lumina. “Some projects are focused on post high-school education, but others will address different aspects of racial inequity.”

Incarcerated Californians will soon be able to apply for federal Pell Grants to pay for higher education. The move, which has support across the political spectrum, was tucked into the omnibus spending bill signed into law in late December.
But educators worry that the promise of funding could attract bad actors. They're hoping to work with state leaders and corrections officials to make sure programs offer quality education and lead to a degree.

Leaders of Louisiana's public schools, colleges and universities are launching an ambitious program to remake high schools, end the "wasted" senior year, and better prepare students for college or a career.
Called "Fast Forward," the program would allow juniors and seniors to spend most of their time earning an associate degree by taking classes at a community or technical college, a state-approved satellite campus, or participating in an apprenticeship.

The days between now and Jan. 20 will feel like some of the longest and shortest of our lives. We live with uncertainty, fear and a palpable amount of dread—about what President Trump may do, about the actions of those who have been radicalized by his ideas and words, and about the feckless elected leaders who seemingly have enabled this destruction of fundamental American ideals for personal or political benefit.
We are better than this. And we can prove it by emphasizing the education and training that promotes active citizenship, human work, and the democratic values that have always been who we are as a nation.

There’s reason for optimism about education in 2021, depending on how a new administration and other policymakers deal with COVID-19, racial equity, student debt, student services, financial aid, and other issues.
Education experts, policy analysts, and others look at both the challenges of the past year and the opportunities in the months ahead.

The pandemic presented an enormous financial challenge for colleges and universities this past fall as they reopened online or in person.
Now, new information from higher education associations is starting to show how large the financial hits have been—and how widely they range for different types of institutions.