Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spark the postsecondary aspirations of all families by creating $500 college savings accounts for all current low income public school students and future ones as they enter the 1st grade, with extra amounts for foster and homeless children, at a cost of $2 billion. The proposal was a surprise piece of his $20 billion, 5-year “transformational” package for preK-12 schools in the May state budget revision that he presented this week.
College savings accounts are not a new concept but they’ve never been done on this scale. We discuss the merits and specifics with two leaders of Oakland Promise, an organization that already has an extensive college savings plan and college readiness programs in place.
Also, we speak with UC Berkeley Law professor Christopher Edley, Jr. about why he wants to lead Berkeley’s Graduate School of Education for the next two years. Edley, a long-time advocate for education equity, will become the school’s interim dean in July, replacing Dean Prudence Carter who is stepping down.
John Fensterwald and Louis Freedberg are the co-hosts. Our guests are:
- Mia Bonta, CEO, Oakland Promise
- Amanda Feinstein, director, Brilliant Baby, Oakland Promise
- Christopher Edley, law professor and incoming dean, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education
For background, read these EdSource stories: