The teaching profession is facing difficulty recruiting and retaining talent in the U.S., especially in STEM subjects. This study identifies the key experiences that shaped the academic paths and career plans of 10 pre-service teachers in STEM education who are participating in a loan forgiveness programme in North Carolina. Using life history…

With the total student debt in the United States at nearly $1.5 trillion, loans are affecting the lives of many students. But while higher education pays off for the average graduate, the student loan data illustrates a unique and severe situation for Black students that has reached crisis level, even if the same isn't true for other racial and…

Private placement financing is a debt or capital lease obligation arranged between a municipality or a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization and a single sophisticated institutional investor. The investor can be a bank, insurance company, finance company, hedge fund, or high-net worth individual. Private placement financing is similar to…

Rural schools, particularly high poverty rural schools, often have difficulty hiring and retaining qualified teachers. Here, we discuss three programs the Arkansas Department of Education has used to attract teachers to teacher Geographic Shortage Districts (GSDs) through material incentives. Unfortunately, none of the programs have had much…

Getting an appointment with Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is challenging, and it's also a challenge to put Duncan in an ideological box. Though he champions education reforms favored by Republicans such as charter schools and teacher merit pay, his opposition to school vouchers and his solid working relationship with teachers unions keep him…

Students are taking on more college debt in this struggling economy, often without the knowledge to make wise choices. To help students better manage their debt, some college campuses and high schools are ramping up their financial-literacy efforts, where experts say such education should begin. But a squeeze on K-12 resources has hampered the…

Many urban districts in the United States have difficulty attracting and retaining quality teachers, yet they are often the most in need of them. In response, U.S. states and districts are experimenting with financial incentives to attract and retain high-quality teachers in high-need, low-achieving, or hard-to-staff urban schools. However,…

This article illustrates a fundamental challenge faced by the charter school movement. Charter schools are publicly funded, yet privately managed under the terms of a charter with a governing body, whether it be the state, a local authorizing board, a local school district, or a university. Even though charter schools are public schools, and often…