30 June 2014 | Sign up to receive ED Youth Voices In this issue: 
President Obama has said that we are stronger when America fields a full team. Unfortunately, too many of the 6.5 million children and youth with disabilities in this country leave high school without the knowledge and skills they need to be successful in a 21st century, global economy. While the vast majority of students in special education do not have significant cognitive impairments that prohibit them from learning rigorous academic content, fewer than 10 percent of eighth graders with disabilities are proficient in reading and math on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Too often, students' educational opportunities are limited by low expectations. We must do better. That's why the Department is changing the way it holds states accountable for the education of students with disabilities. For many years, the Department primarily focused on whether states were meeting the procedural requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Generally, we have seen significant improvement in compliance. Learn more about IEDA here. 
The Department of Education (ED) is the place where you can explore your interests in education policy research and analysis, or intergovernmental relations and public affairs, or even work with social media while learning about the role Federal Government plays in education. If the above appeals to you, then an internship at ED may be right for you. Not only will an internship at ED provide an opportunity to learn first-hand about federal education policy while developing a variety of other skills, including writing, researching, communication and time-management skills, but interns also participate in group intern events, such as brownbag lunches with ED officials, movie nights and local tours. One of the many advantages to an ED internship is the proximity to some of the most historic and celebrated sites in our nation's capital, all accessible by walking or taking the metro. ED is accepting applications for Fall 2014 through July 15. If you are interested in interning for the upcoming fall term, there are three materials you must send before being considered for an interview: - A cover letter summarizing why you wish to work at ED and stating your previous experiences in the line of education, if any. Include here what particular offices interest you, keeping in mind that due to the volume of applications received, you may not be awarded with your first-choice office upon acceptance.
- An updated resume.
- A completed copy of the Intern Application.
Once these three documents are finalized, prospective interns should send them in one email to StudentInterns@ed.gov with the subject line formatted as follows: Last Name, First Name: Fall Intern Application. Applications missing one of the (3) required documents (Cover Letter, Resume, ED Intern Application), will NOT be reviewed. (Note: For candidates also interested in applying specifically to the Office of General Counsel (OGC), please see application requirements here.) An internship at ED is one of the best ways a student can learn about education policy and working in the civil service, but it is not limited to this. Your internship at ED is where you will develop crucial workplace skills that will help you in whatever career path you choose, and it is also where you will meet fellow students like yourself, who share your passions for education, learning, and engagement. Click here for more information or to get started on your application today.
Check out a blog post written by Rebecca Nasuti, an intern in the International Affairs Office: Interning at ED's International Affairs Office Provides Worldly Perspective |
 "Who thinks college is affordable?" Secretary Duncan and new Under Secretary of Education Ted Mitchell posed that question to a packed room of college students and freshly-minted graduates at a recent town hall on college costs and access. A college education is still the best investment students can make in their future. It is also a critical investment that we can make as a nation. But right now, this important rung on the ladder to opportunity is slipping out of reach for many low- and middle-income families in America. One student panelist, Johnathan, said, "My mom always told me I could go to my dream college. Then when we started to look at the cost, we had to slow down and think again. It's not something parents want to have to say: 'Let's see what we can afford. Let's pick something lower on your list." That's something President Obama is determined to change. Since taking office, the President has made key investments in education and advanced an ambitious agenda to combat rising college costs; to make college more affordable; to increase quality; and to improve educational outcomes. On June 9, 2014, the President signed a Presidential Memorandum that will allow an additional 5 million borrowers with federal student loans to cap their monthly payments at just 10 percent of their income. Click here for more on College Affordability. |
There's a school in Nevada with an unusual name that is helping students to achieve promising results: Bracken STEAM Academy of Las Vegas.
The STEAM in Bracken's name comes from its focus on science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, with the largest emphasis on engineering. The school also is placing a renewed focus on holding all students to rigorous, college- and career-ready standards. Michelle Wheatfill, who teaches Bracken fifth-graders and has taught at the school for nine years, sees a difference in the classroom after teaching with heightened standards. "The students are learning exponentially," Wheatfill said. "And because of the technology we have, they take charge of a lot of their learning. We're there just to help guide them, instead of teaching every lesson with direct instruction." Follow STEAM Academy here.
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One out of every three children in America —more than 24 million in total — live in a home without their biological father present, according to a 2012 White House Fatherhood Report. Roughly one out of every three Hispanic children and more than half of African-American children also live in homes without their biological fathers. The presence and involvement of a child's parents protect children from a number of vulnerabilities. More engaged fathers — whether living with or apart from their children — can help foster a child's healthy physical, emotional, and social development. While evidence shows that children benefit most from the involvement of resident fathers, research also has highlighted the positive effect that nonresident fathers can have on their children's lives. Recognizing the importance of fathers in children's physical, emotional, and social development, Shirley Jones, a program specialist in the Department of Education's regional office in Chicago, partnered with the Detroit Area Dad's PTA and the Detroit Public School system. Together, they organized the "Dads to Dads" forum at Detroit Collegiate Preparatory High School at Northwestern, where 350 men, women, and young adults committed to a day of discussion on how to best support children in their communities. Learn more here. |
I was born to a teenage mother who, despite having a child when she was still a child herself, worked hard to achieve more than was expected in Bogalusa. She was fortunate to have hard-working parents who supported her, and she earned a scholarship to attend Louisiana State University. Yet, my mom had to take on the burden of significant student loans. My stepfather, son of a schoolteacher and an electrician, found that he, too, had to take out sizable loans. Years later, I was fortunate that my parents made sacrifices that took me away from Bogalusa to Houston, where I had exposure to more opportunity. Going to college was seen as mandatory in my family. But, when they looked at just how much higher education would cost, their zeal for sending me to get my degree was dampened. Simply put, the $52,000 in tuition and fees at a university in Boston — a school I loved and wanted to attend — were too much for my parents to pay. Even with a partial scholarship, the education I sought was unaffordable for us. Like many middle-class Americans, my parents did not make enough to pay for my school, out-of-pocket, but earned too much for me to get enough financial aid. So, I had to take out student loans. The reality is, though, that college expenses are so great that many, including me, will have to work that much harder for years to get ahead of the tens of thousands of dollars we've had to take out in loans. Click here to read more from Dexter McCoy
|  The National PTA has designated June as the Month of the Rural Child, a time when parents and communities explore ways to become involved and support students in rural schools. Otha Thornton, President of the National PTA has noted, "Nearly one in four high school students in rural areas won't graduate. To help address the unique challenges rural schools face and ensure all students graduate and reach their full potential, it is essential that families are engaged and that strong partnerships are built between families, schools and communities." For one rural Kentucky school district, technology is helping to create strong partnerships between schools and the community, and federal GEAR UP funds are helping to make this possible. Alonzo Fugate, GEAR UP Academic Specialist for Breathitt County Schools in eastern Kentucky, works with students on a weekly news program using iPads purchased with GEAR UP funds. See how Gear Up is affecting the youth. |
 Recently, ED joined hundreds of communities and programs across the country in celebrating National Summer Learning Day, a recognized national advocacy day to spread awareness about the importance of summer learning to our nation's youth—specifically, in helping close the achievement gap and supporting healthy development. Summer learning is everywhere; it's happening in cities and towns all across the country. In Fayetteville, NC, the local university is opening its doors to local youth to learn about its College Readiness Summer Institute and how they can participate. In Louisville, KY, Mayor Greg Fischer joined other prominent local figures to kick off Every 1 Learns, a citywide summer learning effort designed to provide access to academic support and meaningful work experience for Louisville youth. The First Lady, Under Secretary Ted Mitchell, and other guests saw and heard from young people about the incredible things they learned last summer, like how to write a personal statement, teach and mentor younger youth, dance, cook healthy meals, apply for financial aid, and even dissect a sheep brain. Learn more about Summer Learning Day at ED. |
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited Austin this month to keynote the annual National PTA Convention and host a roundtable discussion at Austin Community College apart of the UT-Austin Male Student Leadership Summit. After the convention, Secretary Duncan made his way to Austin Community College's Highland Business Center, where he hosted a roundtable discussion with young men from Austin and the surrounding area to talk about their lives, their experiences in school – particularly those involving discipline, as well as the opportunities that have put them on the road to success. The discussion was hosted by the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics (WHIEEH). WHIEEH's Deputy Director Marco Davis moderated the discussion, which is part of President Obama's My Brother's Keeper initiative that works in partnership with foundations, businesses and others to build on approaches that help young men of color reach their full potential. Deputy Director Davis shared the latest information about President Obama's My Brother's Keeper initiative, which was launched in February and recently released Opportunity for All: My Brother's Keeper Blueprint for Action report, a set of initial recommendations and a blueprint for action to address persistent opportunity gaps faced by boys and young men of color and help all young people succeed and reach their full potential. Davis also discussed best practices for educating and empowering male students of color. Hosted by the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color, the two-day leadership summit brought together student leaders and educators from across the state to focus on building leadership, career development and networking skills among young men of color. Launched a year ago, The Consortium is a state-wide collaboration of two-year and four-year institutions and school districts working together to improve Hispanic and African American male student success. |
U.S. Department of Education signs plan to protect students by avoiding immediate closure of Corinthian Colleges The U.S. Department of Education is working with Corinthian Colleges Inc. on a plan to avoid an immediate closure of the career training program chain and prevent suddenly disrupting the education of 72,000 students and the jobs of 12,000 employees. Click here for more. Statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan On the 70th Anniversary of the GI Bill Following is a statement by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on the 70th anniversary of President Franklin Roosevelt signing on June 22, 1944, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the GI Bill. Read more of the Secretary's Statement here. U.S. Department of Education Announces Action to Help Colleges Keep Campuses Safe The Obama Administration announced new steps to address growing concerns about sexual violence on college campuses by requiring institutions of higher education to comply with new campus safety and security related requirements aimed at curbing sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Read further on the Action to Help Colleges Keep Campuses Safe. U.S. Department of Education Announces $75 Million GEAR UP Competition To focus on building successful practices aimed at improving college fit and college readiness for underrepresented, underprepared and low-income students across the country, the U.S. Department of Education announced today the availability of $75 million for two new Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) competitions. Read up on Gear Up. Education Senior Officials to Testify at Senate Hearing on Efforts to Address Campus Sexual Violence Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Education will testify Thursday before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on the Department's efforts to address campus sexual violence. Appearing at the hearing will be Catherine E. Lhamon, assistant secretary for civil rights, and James L. Moore, Clery Act compliance manager with the Department's Federal Student Aid office. The committee, chaired by U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, will examine, "Sexual Assault on Campus: Working to Ensure Student Safety." Read more on the Senate Hearing here.
The FAFSA Completion Tool was created to help financial aid professionals, school administrators, and practitioners track and increase FAFSA completions. The Tool—updated biweekly throughout the spring—provides every high school in the United States whose students have completed five or more FAFSAs with information about how many applications were submitted and completed for the 2014–15 application year as well as comparison data from the 2013–14 FAFSA application year. School-by-school data is a great way to encourage healthy competition among your high schools. The Financial Aid Toolkit, is designed to assist educators, counselors, and others by consolidating financial aid resources in one place, making it easier to find and access information to help students and parents understand the financial aid process, apply for aid, repay loans, and generally prepare for college. For instance, there are tips on how to host a FAFSA completion workshop—something First Lady Michelle Obama and I did recently with families in Virginia. The toolkit also contains links to sample tweets,Facebook posts, videos, blog posts, infographics and other resources that can be used to encourage and help students and parents to fill out the FAFSA. Income-Based Repayment (IBR): Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is designed to reduce monthly payments to help make loan debt manageable. If you need to make lower monthly payments, this plan may be for you. To qualify for IBR, you must have a partial financial hardship. You have a partial financial hardship if the monthly amount you would be required to pay on your IBR-eligible loans under a 10-year Standard Repayment Plan is higher than the monthly amount you would be required to repay under IBR. Your payment amount may increase or decrease each year based on your income and family size. Once you've initially qualified for IBR, you may continue to make payments under the plan even if you later no longer have a partial financial hardship. Find out whether you're eligible H2O for Life! Is an initiative to that engages, educates and inspires youth to learn, take action and become global citizens through unique and transformational service learning experiences focused on the global water crisis. Access to clean water is critical to sustaining life, and your students can make a tangible difference in the lives of others by helping to implement water, sanitation, and hygiene technology in a water-poor area. Focusing on one small piece of the enormous problem that is our global water crisis allows students to develop a greater understanding of the issues that other people face, learn about a culture different from their own, and discover their personal role in finding a solution to the global water crisis. Learn more here. Are you starting that college search?: If so, use the College Navigator, it is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, high school counselors, and others get information on over 7,000 Colleges and Universities Fill out your FAFSA: It allows you to get Federal Student Aid, at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ Available at FinancialAidToolkit.ed.gov, the website is a "one-stop shop" aimed at guidance counselors and other advisers to help them prepare students for the process of planning and paying for a postsecondary education. YouthRules! is an initiative to promote positive and safe work experiences for teens by distributing information about young workers to youth, parents, employers and educators. Before you start working, you should know what your employer can and cannot require of you. As a young worker you are limited in the types of jobs and number of hours you can work. The rules are different for agricultural work. States also have rules, and employers must follow both. Learn more here. Are you looking for Community service opportunities?: Check out Corporation for National and Community Service, a federal agency that engages more than five million Americans in service through Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America that leads President Obama's national call to service initiative, United We Serve at http://www.nationalservice.gov/ "Credentials for Youth": The U.S. Department of Labor, Division of Youth Services, recently launched the "Credentials for Youth" tool, which provides a step-by-step process for helping youth attain credentials in high demand occupations and connects users to resources that can help them find high demand occupations in their local area using labor market information Vote411.org: Enter your address to find your polling place, build your ballot with our online voters' guide and much more! With our voters' guide you can see the races on your ballot, compare candidates' positions side-by-side, and print out a "ballot" indicating your preferences as a reminder and take it with you to the polls on Election Day. Check out our resources for military and overseas voters! Crank Up Your Wake Up! Get Schooled lets students sign up to get wake up calls any day of the school week from celebrities such as One Direction, Nicki Minaj, Ciara, and Wiz Khalifa. Don't forget to "like" us on Facebook ED Youth Voices Robert Gomez, Samuel Ryan and De'Rell Bonner ED Youth Outreach Team # ABOUT THIS MESSAGE: This and other messages about major U.S. Department of Education news are routinely sent by the U.S. Department of Education's Youth Outreach Team to contacts. We maintain the confidentiality of this information and never share it without contacts' expressed permission. Comprehensive information about U.S. Department of Education news, policies and programs is at www.ed.gov. If you'd like more information on an item, want to "un-subscribe" to this list or would like to add an additional subscriber, please contact or write to youth@ed.gov. If you're interested in getting more comprehensive U.S. Department of Education news regularly sent to your inbox, consider also subscribing to EDReview, our biweekly newsletter. This newsletter contains hypertext links to information created and maintained by other public and private organizations. These links are provided for the user's convenience. The U.S. Department of Education does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of this outside information. Furthermore, the inclusion of links is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to endorse any views expressed, or products or services offered, on these sites, or the organizations sponsoring the sites. |
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