By Katie Fleischer for Ms. Magazine
Broadcast version by Suzanne Potter for California News Service/Public News Service

After another school year impacted by the COVID pandemic, the long-term effects of educational disruptions are increasingly visible. Years of increased stress, financial burdens, and virtual schooling have affected children as well as adults: Test scores have fallen, rates of behavioral issues and absenteeism are up, and students are struggling to maintain their mental health and social skills.

These effects manifest disproportionately in Black and brown families. While students in majority-white schools are starting to recover to pre-pandemic success rates, students in majority-Black schools remain five months behind pre-pandemic math and reading levels-leaving them a full 12 months behind their peers in majority-white schools.

This widening education gap is a devastating sign that many Black children will continue to be marginalized by structural racism and classism throughout their lives. Women of color, particularly Black women, already disproportionately face systemic barriers in higher education and attaining high-paying jobs. The increased learning gap will only broaden those disparities.

For low-income families, this education gap is particularly dire. After the expanded child tax credit (CTC) expired in January, the childhood poverty rate rose from 12% to 17%, and soared to more than 23% for Latino children and 25% for Black children.

Low-income parents across the country are now struggling to provide for their families and support their children's education. For example, essential worker Johnnie was forced to leave her job during the pandemic to care for her daughter, highlighting some of the unique challenges low-income working moms face:

"During the pandemic, it was really hard for me because it was mandatory for me to go to work, but then my daughter was home from school and I didn't have anyone to be there to help her. I ended up leaving my job because it was not safe and my daughter was not able to continue with school without my help. I didn't have any options, so I had to quit my job to help my baby. I want her to have an education and I couldn't let her fall behind."

And regardless of the pandemic, many employers devalue and ignore challenges employed mothers face. Guaranteed income recipient Sequaya was forced to choose between her job and her daughter's safety:

"When school started back up this fall, I had to leave the warehouse job because there was no one to help my daughter get to and from her own school. They wanted me to work 12-hour shifts, and there's just no way to do that when you have a little kid who needs to get on and off the bus around a normal school day. I tried to get my manager to help me work around it, but he wouldn't budge. I had to be at work at 5 a.m. and her bus doesn't come until 7 a.m., and you know what he said? He said to just leave her outside and let her wait. He told me that twice. He said I had to make a decision, and so I did. I left. Motherhood comes first. But that experience hurt, even though I know I did the right thing and walked away with a smile."

Both Johnnie and Sequaya were forced to make difficult decisions to prevent their children from falling behind in school. But most low-income families don't have that option. As Magnolia Mother's Trust (MMT) guaranteed income recipients, Johnnie and Sequaya had the financial ability to leave their jobs and support their children's education.

Guaranteed income is a transformational economic justice policy that involves providing monthly payments to specific marginalized groups. Based in Jackson, Miss., MMT provides Black mothers living in extreme poverty $1,000 per month for a year. Even just a year of receiving consistent and unrestricted payments enables the recipients to escape cycles of debt and poverty and prioritize the long-term needs of their children.

The success of the Magnolia Mother's Trust, which is now in its fourth cohort, demonstrates guaranteed income's far-reaching effects on low-income families and communities.

After one year of receiving monthly payments:

A new Gallup and Lumina Foundation poll unveils a concerning reality: Hoosiers may lack clarity about the true cost of higher education.

The survey reveals merely 23% of U.S. adults without college degrees could estimate the annual net cost of a bachelor's degree from a public college within $5,000 of the actual expense. The repercussions of the financial fog can be overwhelming for students.

Gabriela Espinoza, a 27-year-old nursing student at IUPUI in Indianapolis, said looming debt from school casts a shadow over her future.

"I'm trying to figure out what my debt is going to look like and how long it's going to take me to pay off," Espinoza explained. "I'm luckily in a position right now where I live at home with mom, and she's been helping me out. You know, eventually, I'd like to think about moving out and moving on my own."

Among those polled, 75% believe a bachelor's degree is "extremely" or "very" valuable. However, cost is a major deterrent for many who wish to get a degree. Experts say higher education leaders need to bring clarity to the true cost of college to reduce confusion and provide a pathway for the millions of Americans who have considered college but have not yet enrolled.

For those participating in the poll, 31% have considered stopping coursework within the last three months due to the cost of attending college.

Parker Madison, another nursing student at IUPUI, said the expense is a major concern.

"If you get your college education, you still may be making the same amount as someone without a degree," Madison pointed out. "I feel like sometimes the college education's not even worth it."

More than half, about 56%, of unenrolled adults said cost is a very important reason they are not pursuing a post-high school education. Debt is also a factor for students who stopped out of college, with 35% of students saying loans prevented them from returning to finishing their degree.


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Educators and public school advocates are pushing back on a measure which would consolidate state-funded services that have been an important part of schools in rural Iowa for generations. Some state lawmakers said the funding could be used more efficiently.

Area Education Agencies have been the go-to place for educators in rural Iowa when they need state services at the local level, in all 99 Iowa counties. House Bill 2612 would consolidate the agencies, outsource some of their services and give the state oversight of them.

Mike Owen, deputy director of the group Common Good Iowa, said the agencies have been critical resources for generations.

"The Area Education Agencies have been a very valuable regional system that helps school districts, large and small, with various services that they can't really do on their own," Owen explained. "From special education to media services, to professional development of teachers."

Gov. Kim Reynolds, who signed the measure, said it will provide a more efficient way to spend the state's education dollars. It is scheduled to take effect July 1.

The battle over public school funding has been playing out on a variety of fronts in Iowa, which enjoys a reputation for some of the best-quality public education in the nation. The state recently enacted a private school voucher program, paid for with state dollars.

Owen sees consolidating the Area Education Agencies and outsourcing some of the services they provide as another step in the wrong direction for Iowa's K-12 classrooms.

"It's total disrespect to locally elected decision-makers for schools," Owen contended. "One more example of how education, unfortunately, is being used to pit people against one another, when it is really a unifying value for Iowans."

There are nine Area Education Agencies in Iowa. The State Department of Education will assume oversight of all of them.


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The solar eclipse has sparked more interest in science and technology, especially among young people.

But the saying, 'You can't be what you don't see,' is a reality for youth of color considering a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math career.

A 2024 Black Girls and STEM Report indicates this demographic aspires to become astronauts, engineers and more -- but a lack of Black representation can dampen their enthusiasm.

Crystal Morton is the founder and director of the Girls STEM Institute, which offers courses for girls ages 7 to 18.
She said the emphasis is on relevant cultural content and careers for girls who might not otherwise have access to these experiences.

"That might be doing a session on the science of Black hair," said Morton, "looking at different products to understand the science behind how that product is made, and what's in that product or how it may be impacting them. So, we make our own products. You can be able to look at a label and say, 'Hey, I should be able to pronounce what I'm putting on my skin, or in my hair.'"

She said the students quickly get the connections.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics says about one-third of STEM workers are women. But Black workers make up only 18% of the 35 million people employed in STEM fields.

Morton said the Institute's Saturday programs are in partnership with the Indiana University, Indianapolis School of Education. And in the summer, volunteers engage with students about careers in aviation and medicine.

As a former math teacher, Morton said she believes early exposure to this information is key, and said kids begin showing their curiosity as early as third grade.

"Understanding how things happen with technology, that they all need to have different mathematical levels of understanding," said Morton. "They need to have computational thinking skills, because that's the way this world is moving. And I believe that they do have it -- if you just sit back and watch them play, you see the problem solving happen."

A report on Indiana's STEM education priorities shows the number of undergraduate degrees is up since 2015, but the number of STEM-related degrees awarded hasn't moved much.

Hispanic and Black students earn between 3% and 5% of those STEM degrees. They make up 6% and 9% of the state's population, respectively.