As part of their recent slate of decisions, the Supreme Court of the United States decided upon the legality of the University of Texas’ decision to consider race in its admissions process. The Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that the University can continue this practice. Writing for the majority in the case, Justice Anthony Kennedy determined that the University considering was “a factor of a factor of a factor” and met the court’s interpretation of what is “constitutionally acceptable.” The ruling comes at a time when Latino enrollment numbers at higher education institutions are increasing. Latinos still lag behind Whites in overall enrollment, though; they also fall behind Whites in earning college degrees. Advocates for affirmative action have long argued the benefits of ...
Earlier this month, at the close of the legislative session, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed into law a supplementary spending plan that includes $35 million in one-time funding for programs that help reduce racial and ethnic economic and educational disparities. The legislature agreed to a continued $17.5 million in annual funding going forward. The majority of the funds ($34 million) will be managed by Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The agency will distribute grant funding to over 30 organizations and nonprofit groups in the state. These groups include Hennepin County’s Career Connections Pathways, the White Earth Nation Business Development, and the Latino nonprofit group CLUES. Many of the grants will be used to help expand access to ...
Students in Virginia are weighing in on the impact of soda and sugary beverages through the local public health "Rev Your Bev" campaigns. The campaign that aims at fighting obesity in kids and teens, where, according to a local article, 30% of teens are either overweight or obese, and according to the state's campaigns site, 33% of 5-19-year-olds consume at least one sugary beverage a day. The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) representatives have been visiting schools with the "Rev Your Bev" educational campaign informing students of the high amount of sugar in their favorite sugary drinks and having students taste test other healthier options, like infused waters. Even youth are getting in on the movement, where Virginia's largest youth-led movement, "Y-Street" ...
Mom and registered dietician in Columbus, Ohio, Sally Kuzemchak, calls herself a "soccer mom on a mission" after she found out that her kids were eating junk food and sugary beverages at all their sports and after school events. Sally saw the need to have her two kids fuel up on more than the usual sports drinks, juice boxed drinks and chips that are offered to kids. She wanted to create a grassroots effort to stop unhealthy snacking patterns for the sake of her and other kid's health. So Sally created a healthier snack movement, by asking other moms to take a stand towards healthier snacking at local school, church, and sports team events by becoming, "Snacktivists". Snacktivists moms are empowered to tell their kids coaches, and camp directors about their concerns with snacks ...
Southern California schools are about to get help and funding from an unexpected source, a local grocery store. According to a recent article, the ALDI grocery store has recently partnered with Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) to invest in 15 Southern California area schools to improve overall wellness environments through grants and technical assistance for the 2015 to 2016 school year. The investment from ALDI of $175,000 will go towards helping the schools expand and implement school wellness programs like AFHK's Game On program, and engage community members, parents and ALDI employees to promote wellness at school and home environments. In 2011, the company helped schools through partnering with AFHK in Chicago and hopes to continue to expand and benefit the more than 11,000 ...
A recent study by the Economic Policy Institute that, while the economy has bounced back from the Great Recession, new college and high school graduates, especially minorities such as Latinos, will still have a difficult time dealing with unemployment, underemployment, and living wages. A detailed study looked at the economic outlook for the Class of 2016. Despite officially ending in 2009, the Great Recession had a lasting effect on the employment prospects of young people. The recession left millions unemployed for prolonged stretches of time. The slow recovery has meant that eight classes of graduates have entered into a very weak labor market and have had to compete with more-experienced workers for limited job opportunities. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there ...
In 2013, Bill de Blasio campaigned for the office of mayor of New York City (29% Latino population) on the promise of universal pre-K. A little over three years later and the city enrolls more children in full-day pre-K than any other state besides Georgia. The preschool enrollment of New York City exceeds the total number of students in San Francisco or Boston. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” said deputy mayor Richard Buery, who oversaw the pre-K expansion, in an interview to The New York Times. “Every aspect has been a challenge.” Two thousand teachers had to be recruited, 3,000 classrooms had to be opened, and 300 community providers had to be vetted as partners. More work still had to be done to ensure that the program was a success. The city ...
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced the city’s intention to spend nearly $30 million to increase health services to deal with the growing number of homeless students. Funding, which will come from the state, will be used toward new school-based health centers and programs inside homeless shelters that help children with literacy and attendance. Per recent reports, New York City (29% Latino population) has a rising homeless population, including more than 86,000 public school students in temporary housing. That number has risen 25% since 2010. More than 23,000 of New York City’s students live in homeless shelters. “If we can support their well being, they can feel better, attend school, focus on their school work,” said Elizabeth Rose, the head of operations ...
Do kids have the power to change America’s “fattest” city? Yes! A group of middle school students created a healthy eating and activity program to teach elementary students in Corpus Christi, Texas—once dubbed the nation's fattest city. Now they've won the Salud America! #SaludHeroes video voting contest! Watch their winning video or read their story about how Sarita Damaraju, Doug Hagemeister, and other students planned, mobilized support for, design, and implemented their for-kids, by-kids educational program "Mission FitPossible" across Corpus Christi Independent School District. The program includes nutrition education videos, “Fitness Jeopardy,” jump rope contests, fitness challenges, and a 5K event over 10 weeks. “Seeing kids actually get excited ...
