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Head Start preschools aim to fight poverty, but their teachers struggle to make ends meet

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WASHINGTON (AP) – In some ways, Doris Milton is a startup success story. She was a student in one in all Chicago’s inaugural Head Start classes when the anti-poverty program, which aimed to help children succeed by providing them with a first-class preschool education, was in its infancy.

Milton loved her teacher a lot that she decided to follow in her footsteps. She currently works as a Head Start teacher in Chicago.

After 4 a long time on the job, Milton, 63, earns $22.18 an hour. Her salary puts her above the poverty line, but she is just not financially secure. She needs dental work she will’t afford and is paying off $65,000 in student loan debt from National Louis University, where she was two classes shy of earning her bachelor’s degree. In 2019, she resigned due to illness.

“I’m trying to meet their needs when no one is meeting mine,” Milton said of teaching preschoolers.

Doris Milton, 63, poses for a photograph at Bethel New Life Holistic Wellness Center, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Head Start Teachers – 70% of them have a bachelor’s degree — earn a mean of $39,000 a 12 months, significantly lower than public school teachers with similar qualifications. President Joe Biden wants to raise their salaries, but Congress has no plans to increase the Head Start budget.

Many have left their jobs – about one in five teachers will retire in 2022 – and brought higher-paying jobs in restaurants or retail stores. But if Head Start centers have to raise teacher pay without additional money, operators say they might have to reduce the number of youngsters they serve.

The Biden administration says this system is already discouraging children because so many teachers have left and never enough staff are lining up to take their places. Officials say it is not sensible for an anti-poverty program during which people of color make up 60% of the workforce to underpay its staff.

“Some teachers earn poverty wages themselves, which undermines the original intent of the program,” said Katie Hamm, deputy assistant secretary for the Office of Early Childhood Development.

Head Start, created as a part of President Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” serves a number of the most vulnerable children, including those that are homeless, in foster care or from households below the federal poverty line. With child care prices exceeding college tuition in lots of states, Head Start is the one option inside financial reach for a lot of families.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which administers this system, estimates that the wage increase wouldn’t have a big impact on the number of youngsters served because many programs are already understaffed in all grades. In total, Head Start programs receive enough funding to cover the associated fee of 755,000 seats. However, many programs can’t be fully enrolled because there usually are not enough teachers. Therefore, the department estimates that only about 650,000 of those seats are filled.

The proposed change would force Head Start programs to be permanently cut because they couldn’t afford to keep so many teachers.

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In May, desks fill a classroom at a Pennsylvania highschool. (Photo: Matt Rourke/AP, file)

That worries Head Start leaders, despite the fact that lots of them support raising pay for their staff, said Tommy Sheridan, deputy director of the National Head Start Association. Association the Biden administration asked to allow some programs to waive requirements.

“We like the idea, but it will be expensive,” Sheridan said. “And we do not see Congress appropriating this money overnight.

While a large money infusion doesn’t appear to be within the near future, other solutions have been proposed.

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The Biden administration on Monday published the letter calling on school districts to spend more of the federal money they receive on early childhood education, including Head Start.

On Thursday, U.S. Reps. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J. and Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., introduced a bill that may make Head Start possible employ community college students who’re working toward degrees in child development.

The stakes are perhaps highest in rural launches. The program, positioned outside Anchorage, Alaska, is closing one in all its five facilities because it struggles with a employee shortage. Program director Mark Lackey said the heartbreaking decision allowed him to raise the wages of his remaining staff in hopes of reducing staff turnover.

“It hurts and we don’t want to do it,” Lackey said. “But at the same time, I think it’s kind of necessary.”

Overall, his program cut nearly 100 positions due to staffing shortages. And the population it serves is in dire need: About half of the youngsters are homeless or in foster care. Biden’s proposal may force this system to be further narrowed.

Amy Esser, executive director of Mercer County Head Start in rural western Ohio, said it’s difficult to attract candidates for open teaching positions due to low pay. Starting salaries at Celina City Schools are a minimum of $5,000 higher than at Head Start, and the positions require the identical qualifications.

But she warned that mountain climbing teacher pay could have disastrous consequences for her program and for the broader community, which has few options for child care in low-income households.

“We would be doomed to extinction,” Esser wrote in a letter to the Biden administration“leaving children and families with little or no opportunity for a safe, nurturing environment in which to achieve school readiness.”

Arlisa Gilmore, a longtime Head Start teacher in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said that if it were up to her, she would not sacrifice any job to raise teacher pay. She earns $25 an hour and admits she’s lucky: she collects income from renting her own residence and shares expenses together with her husband. The kids in her class aren’t so lucky.

“I don’t think they should reduce the number of classrooms,” Gilmore said. “At my facility, we have a huge community of children living in poverty.”

Milton, a teacher from Chicago, wonders why such a difficult compromise should be made in any respect.

“Why can’t it be, ‘Let’s help both’? Why do we have to choose?” Milton said. “Don’t we deserve this? Don’t children deserve this?”


This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Education

Mississippi College changes name and eliminates football program

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high school, NIL deals, Mississippi college

Mississippi College embraces its Christian ideology with a name change.


Mississippi College, a non-public institution, is changing its name to Mississippi Christian College. The decision was approved by the Mississippi Board of Supervisors on November 18.

The university can be eliminating its Division 1 football team in an effort to prioritize academic offerings. In an announcement, the university cited the upcoming bicentenary because the inspiration for the changes.

Mississippi Christian College wants to construct on its Christian ideology, in line with President Bake Thompson.

“These transformational and necessary changes are critically important to the future of this institution. As we look ahead to the institution’s bicentennial in 2026, we want to ensure that MC is a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to Christ for another 200 years.”

The college is rededicated to making a space where Christian education stays a priority.

“The institution may even undergo restructuring. A brand new structure will likely be introduced, which can mix the College of Christianity and Art with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the College of Pedagogy will change its name to the College of Pedagogy and Human Sciences. The chancellor was charged with evaluating the potential consolidation of a limited number of educational departments on campus.

Mississippi Christian Athletic Director Kenny Bizott reaffirmed his commitment to former student-athletes.

“We will support our current student-athletes who wish to continue their education at MC, as well as those who wish to transfer,” Bizott added.

Many may view these changes as extreme, but Mississippi Christian believes that every latest organizational change will help the institution fulfill its core functions.

Another Mississippi institution can be within the news for its failures on the legislative level. reported the Mississippi State Senate no payment Legislative Services Office (LSO) attorney Kristie Metcalfe is paid commensurate along with her peers.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the Mississippi LSO on Metcalfe’s behalf. An office investigation found that Metcalfe was earning half the salary of white LSO lawyers. The investigation also found that Metcalfe is the one non-white worker employed within the office’s 34 years of operation. Race discrimination violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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Florida education officials report hundreds of books pulled from school libraries, including Toni Morrison, Richard Wright and Maya Angelou

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye.” “Forever” by Judi Blume. “Slaughterhouse Five” by Kurt Vonnegut.

According to the newest information, all of them have been withdrawn from the shelves of some Florida schools list developed by the Florida Department of Education and containing books removed by local school districts.

Recent changes in state law have made it possible for fogeys and residents to take this motion challenge books to school libraries and required districts to submit an annual report to the state detailing which books were restricted of their schools. Florida continues to steer the nation in withdrawing books from school libraries, in accordance with an evaluation by the American Library Association and the advocacy group PEN America.

“Restricting access means limiting the freedom to read,” said Kasey Meehan of PEN America. “Students are losing the opportunity to access books that reflect their own life experiences, to access books that help them learn and to empathize with people who… have different life experiences.”

The list, published for the 2023-2024 school yr, includes titles by American literary icons similar to Maya Angelou, Flannery O’Connor and Richard Wright, in addition to books which have turn into top targets for censorship across the country as a consequence of LGBTQ+ characters, discussions about gender and sexuality and descriptions of sexual encounters, e.g. “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George Johnson and “Gender Queer” by Maja Kobabe. Supporters of conservatism have described such content as “pornographic.”

The list of books removed from libraries also includes Holocaust accounts similar to “The Diary of Anne Frank: A Graphic Adaptation” and “Sophie’s Choice.” It’s an analogous story with the graphic novel, an adaptation of “1984,” George Orwell’s groundbreaking work on censorship and surveillance.

“Everywhere from Toni Morrison to Alice Walker to Slaughterhouse-Five to George Orwell,” said Stephana Farrell, co-founder of the Florida Freedom to Read Project, which tracks book challenges within the state. “If you take the time to look through this list, you will see that there is a problem with… this movement.”

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In an announcement to the Associated Press, a spokesman for the Florida Department of Education maintained that no books have been banned in Florida and defended the state’s efforts to remove “sexually explicit material” from schools.

“Once again, far-left activists are promoting the book ban scam to Floridians. “The better question is why these activists continue to fight to expose children to sexually explicit material,” spokeswoman Sydney Booker said.

The list shows that the number of book withdrawals varies widely across the state, with some districts reporting no restrictions and others reporting hundreds of titles pulled from shelves. Farrell of the Florida Freedom to Read Project said that based on the group’s evaluation of public records, the department’s report is an undercount since it doesn’t include books removed in consequence of an internal staff review, only those withdrawn in consequence of a grievance filed by a parent or resident.

Farrell believes that almost all Florida parents want their children to have broad access to literature.

“We live in a country where parental rights should be recognized, heard and taken into account,” Farrell said. “We are asking for accountability and an accurate record of the impact of these laws on our children and what is available to them.”

Schools have restricted access to dozens of books by Stephen King, a master of the horror genre known for bestsellers similar to “It” and “Pet Sematary.” Clay County officials also found his book, “On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft,” inappropriate for college kids.

King, who spends part of the yr in Florida, talked about attempting to get his books out of students’ hands, urging readers to run to the closest library or bookstore.

“What the hell?” In August, King posted on social media reacting to the choice of some Florida schools to drag his books from shelves.

Multiple school districts in Florida have filed legal challenges for restricting students’ access to books, including Escambia County, which is being sued by PEN America and Random penguin housethe biggest publisher within the country.

Nassau County School District in September settled lawsuit brought by the authors of “And Tango Makes Three,” an image book based on the true story of two male penguins who raised a chick together at New York’s Central Park Zoo. Under the terms of the settlement, the district needed to return three dozen books to the shelves.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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Issa Rae meets with Georgia law students

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Issa Rae, georgia state university

Rae will speak to students about legal issues related to her success.


Georgia State University College of Law announced that Issa Rae will meet with students to debate the legal elements of her successful profession as a part of the course “The Legal Life of Issa Rae.”

On November 7, the producer-actress will hold a hearing at Rialto Art Center. The visit is the culmination of a course exploring Rae’s decades-long profession within the entertainment industry. Rae’s profession provides a wealth of legal diversity to explore as her profession extends beyond visual entertainment.

The classes are held as a part of the “Legal Life…” series. The series was created by George State University law professor Moraima “Mo” Ivory.

As a professor at Georgia State College of Law, Ivory curated a series that examined the legality of maintaining a prestigious profession. As reported, Rae is a course subject this semester BLACK ENTERPRISES.

The creator’s team worked with Ivory to take an in depth take a look at the contracts that helped Rae secure her deals.

“With the support of her team, we will also have the unique opportunity to analyze her real-world deals and discuss how her approach to deals is shaping today’s entertainment landscape. We are incredibly fortunate to have this opportunity,” Ivory told .

It was classy access for 10 years value of contractual agreements to be analyzed.

“This is the first class where every contract was an actual contract with the artist,” Ivory said. “Students can see how real deals actually happen and what real entertainment lawyer Issa Rae has been doing over the last 10 years.”

Ivory, a professor and Fulton County commissioner, believes that the language of the law is vital and that the power to see the language in connection with a noteworthy product allows students to beat the barrier of unfamiliarity.

“You have to look at what people are actually doing and what is happening at the moment. The more familiar they become with the language, the faster they will be able to master it and start representing clients.”

According to Ivory, Rae’s family and business partners were instrumental in checking out the complicated details of her business. The course was attended by “Rae’s mother, siblings, network executives and members of her staff.”

The longtime artist began her profession on YouTube with “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.” The show’s success led to a collaboration with host Larry Wilmore and a multi-show deal with HBO. Outside of television, Rae is a successful actress and producer of many shows including (2022). She also created her own media company HooRae media and music label Raedio.


This article was originally published on : www.blackenterprise.com
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