Education and the American Dream
Pathways From High School to College and Careers
What will it take to make the U.S. education system a more powerful engine for economic mobility? What are the obstacles, especially for low-income families and students of color?
At this journalists-only seminar on Nov. 14-15 in Chicago, we will explore these and other questions, with a special focus on emerging efforts to create stronger pathways from high school to college and promising careers.
Topics we expect to address include:
- What do we really know about the impact of K-12 and higher education on economic mobility? What data can help inform local coverage of your schools and colleges?
- Where are promising examples of schools replacing dead-end vocational tracks with high-quality career and technical education that leads to careers with a future?
- Why does guidance counseling in schools often fall short, and what are promising ways to address the problem?
- What’s the track record of Advanced Placement, dual enrollment, and dual credit programs in serving disadvantaged students, and what are the best ways to gauge the impact of local programs?
- What are some high schools learning as they pivot to measure the success of their graduates? And how are they seeking to help students on their postsecondary journeys?
Journalists will come away from this two-day event with a deeper understanding of the issues, practical story ideas, and knowledge of how to find and use valuable data sets to inform their reporting. They also will have the chance to network and build relationships with fellow journalists, experts, and educators.
This event is open to EWA journalist members only. Information on registering for this event will be available soon. Eligible journalists may apply for scholarships to reimburse expenses for lodging and basic travel costs.
