T.E.A. with College Futures

Jetaun Stevens, a senior staff attorney with Public Advocates, is well aware of the inequities experienced by today’s learners and is working to support California’s affordable student housing efforts. Stevens shares more about the recently-launched California Affordable Student Housing (CASH) Coalition and offers insight into how equity champions can help address housing insecurity.

Known formally as the Racial Equity Commission for the California Community Colleges, the group is dedicated to transforming institutions to better serve students of color. Dr. Adrián Trinidad, associate director of community college partnerships at the USC REC, shares more about the commission’s racial equity series of projects, including the recent release of a graphic novel and a new framework to reimagine racial equity in California Community Colleges.

The Education Trust—West (ETW) are taking the lead on amplifying the voices of student parents and working to develop system-wide solutions to better support the postsecondary success and comprehensive well-being of student parents and their families. Maya Valree, ETW’s policy analyst (parenting students), offers her thoughts on why California’s student parents must be included in higher education’s equity conversations and shares ETW’s plans for improving student parent support.

Just Equations and The Campaign for College Opportunity recently partnered to release Greater Equity in Higher Education Through Math Opportunity. Pamela Burdman, Just Equations’ executive director and co-author of the brief, provides more insight into how math is a critical component of the higher education equity conversations; she offers her thoughts on where California’s public postsecondary systems currently stand in their math equity quests and where there is room to grow.

In July 2021, John Burton Advocates for Youth (JBAY) released The Overlooked Obstacle, the first of two publications calling attention to how SAP policies and appeals stand as barriers for maintaining financial aid, disproportionately impacting students of color, first-generation students, foster youth, and students experiencing homelessness. Sarah Pauter, a senior project manager with JBAY, offers a SAP primer and shares how adjustments to existing SAP policies are key to advancing institutional and system-wide equity goals.

The Community Engagement for College Success Network (CECSN), represented by 13 local and statewide organizations, released findings from their statewide research poll conducted to better understand the key priorities, barriers, experiences, and values shaping the attitudes of college students in California, with a particular focus on students of color. GO Public Schools served on CECSN’s statewide poll working group. Darcel Sanders, GO’s chief executive officer, shares the impetus behind the statewide poll and offers her thoughts on the findings.