Episode 99: Low-income students strive for college access; what's next for Oakland Unified; community colleges lag in reaching goals

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Bribes that wealthy parents paid to get their kids into prestigious colleges were brazen but — for urban students competing on an unequal footing for college — not surprising. This week, Tina Kim, a site director in Los Angeles of the nonprofit College Track, shares the perceptions of low-income students who know the obstacles they face on the path to college.

Plus Alameda County Superintendent of Schools L. Karen Monroe discusses the financial challenges confronting Oakland Unified. And EdSource’s Larry Gordon talks about the challenges facing California’s community colleges in reaching their ambitious goals to improve student completion and transfer rates.

For background:

• Too many college students are not going back to school this fall
• After seven-day strike, Oakland teachers approve new contract
• Oakland school board cuts $20.2 million from budget, including 100 jobs
• California community colleges show little progress in student graduations and transfers
• California’s community colleges’ new push to improve graduation and transfer rates