AUSTIN, Texas -- En 2021, San Antonio College recibió lo que se ha llamado los "Oscar" por logros sobresalientes como colegio comunitario, gracias a su compromiso para con los estudiantes que a menudo tienen dificultades para permanecer en la escuela.

El Premio Aspen a la excelencia de colegios comunitarios se otorga cada dos años.

El presidente de San Antonio College, Robert Vela, dice que la institución de 95 años se enfoca en atender a personas de su entorno inmediato, en algunos de los códigos postales más empobrecidos del país, con bajo porcentaje de obtención de títulos y altas tasas de desempleo.

"Es muy dificil para una institución urbana lograr la excelencia y lograr este tipo de éxito," dice Vela. "Por lo que nos aseguramos en preparar a los estudiantes para que triunfen en la fuerza laboral o en el entorno universitario."

San Antonio College recibirá 600 mil dólares por su logro de primer lugar en áreas que incluyen la finalización de certificados y títulos, éxito en la fuerza laboral y equidad para estudiantes de color y de bajos ingresos.

Amarillo College, Odessa College y San Jacinto College también recibieron reconocimiento.

John Wyner, del programa de premios Aspen, dice que es una prueba de la inversión por parte del estado en la mejora de colegios comunitarios, que cuatro de los 10 finalistas estén en el estado de Lone Star.

"Estamos viendo que las universidades están logrando mejorías rápidas y equitativas, y eso es realmente un testimonio del arduo trabajo que han realizado tantas entidades dentro del estado de Texas," agrega Wyner.

Vela dice que en el pasado, muchos futuros estudiantes evitaban los colegios comunitarios si podían pagar una institución de cuatro años. Pero desde que el presidente Joe Biden los promovió dentro del Plan Familias Americanas, Vela cree que muchas personas están dándo una segunda mirada.

"Brinda opciones," asegura Vela. "Y por tantos años, nos han fabricado la idea de 'te estas asentando'. Dado nuestro entorno, dado el tipo de situación económica en la que todos estamos, en realidad es una decisión muy inteligente desde el punto de vista financiero."

Dos tercios de los estudiantes de SAC son hispanos, negros o nativos americanos. Vela agrega que de el 52 por ciento de los estudiantes inscritos, se gradúan o transfieren en tres años, en comparación con el promedio nacional del 46 por ciento.

La Fundación Lumina proporcionó apoyo para este informe.


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Missouri residents are gaining new insights into the powerful role of food in health care as experts and organizations advocate for a shift toward food-as-medicine initiatives.

Kelsey Gardiner, assistant professor of nursing and health studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, emphasized the critical link between access to healthy food and improved health outcomes. She noted individuals facing food insecurity often experience higher rates of chronic diseases, highlighting the urgent need for systemic changes to enhance food access.

"There are things we can do and there are certain shifts nationally that are happening, whether that be through policy or through infrastructure changes," Gardiner pointed out. "We can be doing more in the state of Missouri in order to help increase access to healthy food that can directly tie into better health outcomes."

Gardiner underscored the potential of food-as-medicine interventions in preventing chronic conditions and reducing health care costs. She said recent studies show such interventions can lead to $13.6 billion over one year in cost savings and several improved health outcomes, making them a valuable addition to health care strategies.

Kael Martin, people impact strategist for the Health Forward Foundation, said focusing on communities affected by structural racism, socioeconomic challenges and limited health care access is paramount. Food as medicine is seen as a strategic approach to promote health equity, particularly in areas where systemic barriers hinder optimal health.

"We know that eating healthy can prevent chronic disease, but it can be a treatment option as well," Martin stressed. "To have that connection within our health care system, to really integrate these interventions, can be really impactful for many patients."

While progress is underway nationally and in other states such as Massachusetts, California and North Carolina, Missouri is still developing its approach to integrate food as medicine into health care systems and policies. Efforts to push for legislation supporting these initiatives are in progress, with some federal legislation around medically tailored meals garnering support.

As many Wyomingites await their 2023 federal income tax refunds, a new National Priorities Project report breaks down how the money they won't get back is being spent.

Co-author Lindsay Koshgarian, program director for the National Priorities Project, said this year's Tax Receipt shows that - while many school districts in Wyoming and across the U.S. are facing major budget cuts - the average taxpayer is contributing thousands of dollars to military contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.

"So whereas the average Wyoming taxpayer was giving almost $2,300 to corporate pentagon contractors," said Koshgarian, "they were giving only $455 for public education in our K-12 schools."

The average American household paid over $5,000 for militarism and support systems, but invested just $110 in the Child Tax Credit - which cut child poverty in half during pandemic era changes.

The Pentagon has failed to account for money spent in audits for the past six years. But its defenders argue tax dollars create jobs and maintain global security in the face of competitors, including China.

Koshgarian said corporate contractors can create jobs, especially in key Congressional districts.

She pointed to Brown University research showing that $1 billion in military spending adds roughly 11,000 jobs.

By comparison, $1 billion would add nearly 27,000 education, and 17,000 healthcare jobs.

"But if we put that same money into other things like education or infrastructure or healthcare," said Koshgarian, "we could actually create more good jobs with the same amount of money."

The U.S. Department of Defense has known about the existential threat of climate change for decades, and wildfires now cost upward of $394 billion in damages each year.

But the average taxpayer invested just $14 in wildfire management.

Koshgarian said she believes concerns about protecting international security, which largely serve corporate interests, are overblown.

"The U.S. is already the top military spender in the world by far," said Koshgarian. "We spend more than the next 10 militaries combined. We have the most capable military by far in the world, and no one disputes that."




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A New Mexico resident will attend President Joe Biden's State of the Union address tonight as legislation is pending to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

The measure was passed in 1990, with money going to residents of the Southwest who were harmed, either from uranium mining or atomic tests in 1945. The original legislation included "downwinders" in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. But New Mexico was left out, despite the state being home to the world's first atomic bomb testing and explosion.

Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, has made it her life's work to get New Mexico families compensated.

"I've been working for 19 years to bring attention to the negative health effects the people of New Mexico suffered," Cordova explained. "The Trinity bomb was detonated in the middle of our state and adjacent to a bunch of towns where 13,000 people lived in a 50-mile radius."

Cordova was invited to the annual Presidential address by Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M. In the coming days, the Senate is scheduled to vote on legislation to reauthorize the act, now scheduled to end in June.

Cordova pointed out the more than 30-year-old compensation program was an admission of guilt on the part of the government but left out many of those harmed. She knows families who have lost relatives to cancer, some within 10 years of the nuclear bomb testing.

"I just hope that people who know I'm present, realize that we will never give up the fight," Cordova asserted. "We will work very hard to get the RECA amendments passed this year, but if by some chance that doesn't happen, we will continue to fight this fight for justice as long as it takes."

This Sunday, the Hollywood blockbuster, Oppenheimer, about the creation of the atomic bomb, is a favorite to win best picture at the 2024 Academy Awards. The film did not address effects to those downwind of the bombing site.


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