House Bill 5 may create separate and unequal college paths for Texas students
URBAN EDGE : November 30, 2020
Differences in course requirements across endorsements appear to provide some students a more direct path to selective four-year colleges and universities than other endorsements. What can school districts in Texas do to help students and families deal with these discrepancies?
Map of Houston area’s distressed and prosperous ZIP codes shows ongoing and growing inequality
URBAN EDGE : November 5, 2020
Where you live determines to a great extent how much access you have to quality education, health care, housing, public services and more. More access correlates to better outcomes in life. One-third of the Black population and almost one-third of the Hispanic population of Texas live in an economically distressed community. The populations of the Houston area’s distressed ZIP codes predominantly are people of color.
Does Atascocita really have the worst quality of life in America?
URBAN EDGE : October 25, 2020
It depends on whom you ask, but according to one list, it does. Overall, suburban cities in the Houston area are affordable and economically healthy, but they don’t stack up well when it comes to education, health and quality of life.
Students: Don’t leave college money on the table by failing to file a FAFSA
URBAN EDGE : October 23, 2020
The vast majority of college undergrads depend on some amount of financial aid to afford their education. But to get it, they have to fill out a FAFSA. Research shows that students in higher-poverty school districts are less likely to complete the FAFSA than students in wealthier districts. So far this year, which has been greatly disrupted by the pandemic, completion rates are down at all levels, especially in high-minority and Title 1 high schools.
An economist makes the case for school integration
URBAN EDGE : October 20, 2020
Contrary to popular opinion, efforts to integrate schools in the 1970s and 1980s were overwhelmingly successful, says economist Rucker C. Johnson. Johnson argues that we must renew our commitment to integration for the sake of all Americans.
Urban Reads: Rucker C. Johnson
EVENT : October 15, 2020
Acclaimed economist Rucker C. Johnson discusses his new book, "Children of the Dream: Why School Integration Works."
We’ll overcome COVID-19, but can we overcome 400 years of wrongs?
URBAN EDGE : September 22, 2020
There has been a lot of discussion and speculation about the future of cities and how they will change following the pandemic. What will that future look like for Black Americans, who have been abused, exploited, ground down and lied to in the past? As we move into the future, what will change? And what will stay the same?
Preparing Today’s Students for Tomorrow’s Texas Workforce
RESEARCH : August 6, 2020
Motivated by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s 60×30TX strategic plan, this project examined the path to and through college and into the workforce for students in the Houston area and state of Texas.
Will tuition-free college increase college graduation rates?
RESEARCH : August 4, 2020
This study determined the optimal tuition subsidy necessary to increase two- and four-year college graduation in Texas. The study also estimated the per pupil and total cost of potential subsidies, and compared how they might affect college graduation rates.
School-to-Work Linkages in Texas
RESEARCH : July 29, 2020
This report examined school-to-work linkages among bachelor’s degree holders in the state of Texas. Linkage is a measure of how closely connected college majors are to specific occupations in the labor market.
Imbalance, inequality and the growing burden on working parents with school-age kids
URBAN EDGE : July 24, 2020
While children attend K-12 public schools for an average of 1,195 hours per year, a full-time working parent averages twice as much time, about 2,450 hours per year, working and commuting. Now, as school districts prepare to reopen for the fall semester — whether in-person, virtually or a combination of both — administrators, teachers, parents and students are having to adjust their plans based what’s possible during the coronavirus pandemic.