TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - As more than 200 organizations call on the Biden administration to extend the pause on student-loan repayments, some borrowers are finding success through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

The Biden administration's approach to student-loan relief so far has been on improving or expanding a handful of programs that already were on the books, even as advocates press for the campaign promise of canceling $10,000 in student debt per person.

Susan Garcia is a professor of the New World School of the Arts at Miami Dade College, who said she was able to see her loans forgiven in the modified program for educators, nurses and public employees who give 10 years of service.

"It is $92,000 of payments that are being forgiven, that have been forgiven," said Garcia. "And for me that is, like, incredible because I'm, like, 58 years old, headed toward retirement, I have a 17-year-old son who is looking to go to college and trying to figure out how he's going to do that."

Garcia is encouraging others to take advantage of the now-streamlined program which, according to the education department, already has forgiven $2 billion dollars in debt. The pandemic moratorium on federal student loans is set to expire after January 31.

Garcia said the student-debt crisis is real. She credited organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers for pushing for reforms to make it possible for her loans to be forgiven, which started out at around $120,000.

"Don't get me wrong, it wasn't like I didn't make payments," said Garcia. "I paid over $148,000, mostly interest only since I separated from school."

One major change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows all payments by student borrowers to count, regardless of loan program or payment plan. That waiver runs through October of next near.

However, a survey by the Student Debt Crisis Center found that 89% of fully employed student loan borrowers said they were not financially secure enough to resume loan payments on February first.

Research is emerging about the secondary trauma school staff members face after helping students during the pandemic. As summer moves forward, school social workers in Minnesota say there are ways to seek a manageable environment when classes resume this fall.

New findings in the journal Psychology in the Schools noted teachers and support staff have had difficulty finding time for self-care as work demands pile up. It coincides with more students needing mental-health support.

Brooke Davis, a school social worker at Hopkins Public Schools, recommended colleagues collectively reflect on their jobs this summer, and express to administrators which duties should be prioritized.

"Honestly, that reflection, and teaming and collaborating, has brought me more comfort and peace than any hobby," Davis acknowledged.

School districts had hoped for more funding this spring to add staff in light of Minnesota's historic budget surplus. But talks fell apart as the session ended. And with leaders from both major political parties still at odds, a special session seems unlikely right now.

Davis, a member of the Minnesota School Social Workers Association, said for staff still feeling burnout, therapy is an option to consider.

"Not only for yourself, but also, it creates this parallel process where we are getting support from someone, and we are supporting other people," Davis explained. "And we can see how those two processes are happening at the same time."

She contended it allows staff to better serve the students they work with. Davis added the increasing demands in the last two years include responding to behavioral issues as students get re-acclimated to classroom settings.

Separately, a recent Surgeon General's report suggests school districts establish realistic workloads and student-to-staff ratios in addressing concerns about well-being.

Gov. Kathy Hochul has approved a new law, requiring schools to consider installing a silent, panic-alarm system.

Approval of what's known as "Alyssa's Law" comes in the wake of several mass shootings, which have made many elected officials consider more strict gun safety and school safety laws.

Andy Pallotta, president of New York State United Teachers, believes the new provision in school safety plans will quell some of the anxiety students and teachers feel about whether they can be safe in the classroom.

"Well, I think that we are in a position where we support anything that can make students feel safer and staff feel safer," Pallotta explained. "And then, the entire community feel that everything is being done to keep their schools as safe as possible. So, this makes sense."

The bill passed unanimously. The law is named for Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old who lost her life in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Pallotta thinks after hearing input from students, parents and teachers, school districts across the state will find ways to adopt new methods to urgently call first responders.

"In a state like New York, which just came through with a very good budget for education, I think that there are ways they can come up with different methods of making this happen," Pallotta contended.

New York is the third state to approve Alyssa's Law, following its approval in New Jersey and Florida in 2019 and 2020, respectively. It has also been submitted for votes in the state legislatures of Arizona, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia, as well as a national version in the U.S. House of Representatives.

A program in Oregon aims to ramp up the number of technicians in aviation just as the industry is predicting a major shortage.

Over the next two decades, according to a report from Boeing, the United States could have 192,000 fewer aviation technicians than it needs. The two-year Aviation Maintenance Technology Program at Portland Community College could help address this gap.

Thomas Laxson, faculty department chair of the program, saw the effects of the shortage and said it could benefit students.

"I have employers calling my desk phone daily asking to come and speak with our students to offer them jobs," he said. "It's manifest in the way that the majority of our students have job offers before they've even graduated the program."

This year, the program partnered with Horizon Air, sister company to Alaska Airlines, to create the Horizon Technician Development Program. It provides more than $12,000 in scholarship money and a guaranteed job after graduation. Laxson said technicians can start at $30 an hour.

The industry also needs more pilots. The same Boeing report projected the North American fleet will need an additional 208,000 pilots by 2040. Laxson said he believes one reason for the shortages of pilots and maintenance crews is that technical education has been de-emphasized.

"An entire generation of people - frankly, my generation - whose parents all told us, 'University, university, university,' and we didn't see a lot of people entering the trades," he said. "And so, there's this generational skip that's happened. And as a result we've got this very strong, current need for additional folks."

Portland Community College also is trying to fill this gap by reaching out to high school students, such as with its Oregon Aerospace Careers for Everyone Program. Laxson said the program isn't just an opportunity to learn about airplanes and how they work, but also how to think inside of the aviation industry.

"It is really a remarkable industry in the sense that it changes you," he said. "For you to be successful in it, it's going to change you. You turn into a checklist person, and you turn into a very detail-oriented person."


Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.