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  • Cal Poly Humboldt students live in vehicles to afford college. They were ordered off campus.

    Cal Poly Humboldt students live in vehicles to afford college. They were ordered off campus.

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    Maddy Montiel and Brad Butterfield marveled at the community they found this semester at Cal Poly Humboldt.

    Montiel, an environmental science major, and Butterfield, a journalism major, had lived in their vehicles for several years, the only way, they said, that they could afford to attend college. They usually found parking in campus lots or on nearby streets.

    But the pair and about 15 others like them — students living in sedans, aging campers, a converted bus, who could afford a $315 annual parking permit but not rent — found one another on campus parking lot G11. They started parking together in a row of spaces and named their community “the line.” They shared resources: propane tanks to heat their living quarters, ovens to cook meals. They helped one another seal leaky roofs and formed an official campus club aiming to secure a mailing address.

    They felt safe.

    Students Brad Butterfield and Maddie Montiel embrace next to a pair of parking tickets she received from Cal Poly Humboldt police.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    “None of us have ever had something like that before,” said Montiel, 27. “People who live like this don’t really congregate, and try to stay out of view.”

    Then the notices arrived late last month. The university was going to enforce a campus policy, written into parking regulations, that prohibits overnight camping. Remove vehicles by noon on Nov. 12, or they could be towed and students could face disciplinary action, the letter said.

    Montiel and Butterfield moved their vehicles to another campus parking lot, hoping the university would back down if they became less visible. They found two spots under redwood trees at the edge of campus. Others from G11 scattered, driven back into hiding.

    On the morning of Nov. 13, several students who stayed at G11 and other campus lots awoke to discover parking violations on their windshields, a $53 fine for living overnight in their vehicles, $40 for those whose vehicles were too large for one spot.

    The actions by Humboldt — defended by university officials as necessary for health and safety — provide an up-close look at how low-income California State University students determined to earn a college degree struggle to meet their basic needs amid the state’s student affordable housing crisis.

    A person in a vehicle sips from a cup.

    Cal Poly Humbolt student Caleb Chen eats noodles in his van in campus parking lot G11.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    “We’re putting everything we have into our education in order to be here,” Montiel said. “For them to just keep putting all of this added pressure onto us just seems really unnecessarily cruel.”

    The campus-wide email landed at the end of October: The university would soon prohibit students from sleeping in cars.

    “Overnight camping in University parking lots creates unsanitary and unsafe conditions for both those encamped and for our campus community at large,” the email said. “The University Police Department and other campus offices have taken calls from concerned members of the campus community expressing fear and frustration about the situation.”

    Days later, three administrators visited students parked in G11 to share details about the enforcement, said Butterfield, 26.

    “This is a direct response to the public health and safety concerns that have stemmed from overnight activity in University parking lots,” said a letter given to students. The university would provide temporary emergency housing to students through the end of the semester, which ends in December, or would help students identify campsites or other locations where they could park off campus.

    Tom Jackson, Cal Poly Humboldt’s president, declined an interview request through spokesperson Aileen Yoo, who said university staff is also available to help students find longer-term housing solutions.

    “These aren’t evictions. The University is enforcing a long-standing parking policy,” Yoo said in an email.

    Two people walk through the lobby of a building at Cal Poly Humboldt.

    Two people walk through the lobby of a building at Cal Poly Humboldt.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    In response, faculty in the sociology department wrote a letter to university officials, condemning them for upholding a policy that “criminalizes” the students. The message to the campus community “framed our houseless students as a group of people who are feared, clearly intimidating them to get them off campus,” the letter said.

    “There are ways that we can address this in a way that best serves our students and community,” said Tony Silvaggio, chair of the sociology department and vice president of the Humboldt chapter of the California Faculty Assn. “And it’s not just kicking them off campus to live on the streets somewhere else.”

    The University Senate, a campus governing body, passed a resolution urging the university to suspend its enforcement of the parking policy until the end of the academic year, include students in decision-making and explore “safe parking” options on campus.

    The students of G11 started an online petition, pushing back against the characterization that they are unsanitary or create danger. The students said they went out of their way to pick up trash and to maintain a clean environment.

    The campus-wide email was “an attempt to shame, humiliate, and isolate the houseless community on campus,” the petition said. “We are living in our vehicles and are legally homeless because, quite simply, we cannot afford rent.”

    After the uproar, the university sent a second campus-wide email that said, “The challenges of affordable housing can be particularly acute for students, and the University is invested in supporting them.” But the university did not reverse its decision.

    Butterfield and Montiel raced to persuade officials to reconsider, meeting with administrators, including campus police and the dean of students.

    They tried to schedule a meeting with Mark Johnson, the university’s chief of staff, and Cris Koczera, director of risk management and safety services. But an email from a campus ombudsman told the students the administrators would not meet with them. The university’s decision and the options it presented were clear, the email said, and “no constructive discussion is to be had.”

    For Montiel, Humboldt was a world away from San Bernardino, her hometown. She first visited the university in high school, tagging along on a road trip with a friend.

    Two people, one visible in a doorway and the other reflected in a mirror, with a dog.

    Students Brad Butterfield and Maddy Montiel, along with their dog Ollie, prepare for class after taking a shower on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    Montiel was struck by the abundance of the nearby forest, the beauty of the redwoods that towered over campus. Years later, she learned the college had an environmental science program that offered experiences that aligned with her goals of working in ecological restoration.

    “I fell in love with the place and always saw it as a dream — but never attainable because it was so far, and it’d be too expensive,” she said.

    She attended Riverside City College for five years, enrolling in classes full time as she juggled multiple jobs. After she earned multiple associate degrees, she told herself, “I’m just going to go for it and figure out living up in Humboldt.”

    She is making it work by living in a 1995 Chevy Coachman, purchased with a loan that costs her $600 a month. She has also taken out $25,000 in student loans for tuition and fees and works as a studio tech in the campus metalsmithing studio to pay for other living expenses.

    In fall 2022, Montiel purchased a campus parking permit that allows students to park on campus during the academic year and eventually settled into the G11 lot.

    A handwritten note in red ink is taped on the inside of a car window.

    A student’s note on the window of his van tells police he is not camping at Cal Poly Humboldt. The university recently told students they could not sleep in their cars overnight.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    In her aging Coachman, she studies on a tray table and practices yoga on a narrow strip of walkway. She cooks meals on a small propane stove inside. Her bed is lofted over the driver and passenger seats. Every other week, she visits a dump station to empty waste and fill her water tanks.

    Over time, more students began to park in G11, a lot situated among dorms and a short walk from a campus market. The location was convenient for shuttling back and forth between classes or to access the campus gym for showers. This semester, the 15 to 20 students found comfort in their community. They celebrated the start of the year with a beach bonfire and eventually formed the Alternative Living Club.

    A person carrying an empty water container walks toward buildings at night.

    Student Caleb Chen searches for water late at night with a gallon container on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    The club began as a way for unhoused students to receive mail, as they needed an address for scholarship and job applications. Montiel, the club’s president, envisioned more. The club could offer a support system for unhoused students, an avenue to propose ideas about how the university could better help them. They talked about pooling funds for a storage facility, formalizing a safe parking program.

    Montiel said many cash-strapped students have approached club members and said they are leaning toward moving into vehicles “because it’s their last and only option” to stay in college.

    But now Montiel wonders if the club and the growing visibility of homelessness on campus led to the university’s decision to displace them.

    “We’re kind of more seen,” she said. “We weren’t just scattered and hidden.”

    Carrie White, another student who took up residence in the parking lot, transferred to Humboldt after graduating from community college in Utah. As she calculated her living expenses, the 27-year-old biology major realized she could not afford rent while attending school.

    “I can’t afford to pay $1,500, $900 a month and work and then do a STEM degree,” said White, who is from England. “I can’t afford it.”

    A person inside a recreational vehicle with pink and blue lighting.

    Student Brad Butterfield prepares to move his camper off the Cal Poly Humboldt campus.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    So she purchased an old school bus and gradually converted it to her home. At Humboldt, she works up to 20 hours a week, balancing a research assistant job with an internship in 3D facial reconstruction and a fellowship where she volunteers in the community.

    As a person who is autistic, White said, she relies on routine and is sensitive to noise and light. Living in her bus, she has some control over her environment.

    “I’ve tried to do those things with my budget and with my situation, and then this has happened,” she said. “There’s a lack of thought and consideration.”

    This isn’t the first time in recent years that Cal Poly Humboldt has generated anger over its response to student housing shortages.

    Last academic year — in anticipation of a large enrollment jump after becoming a polytechnic campus — the university announced it would prioritize limited on-campus housing for first-year students. Many continuing students would have to search for housing in off-campus rentals or at a limited number of motels leased by the university.

    Around the same time, officials also weighed a proposal to house students on a floating barge, an idea that attracted national media attention and was mocked in a brief segment by Stephen Colbert. The barge plan has not materialized, and enrollment remained flat this academic year.

    A person with a dog stands at an open locker.

    Brad Butterfield stores his belongings with his dog Ollie after taking a shower on the campus of Cal Poly Humboldt.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    But the university’s approach to dealing with housing shortages points to a larger issue in the California State University — the nation’s largest four-year public higher education system, with nearly 460,000 students.

    “One in 10 Cal State students experience homelessness,” according to research published in 2016. Another report, published by the Cal State system last year, found nearly 33,000 students lack housing assistance they need.

    At Cal Poly Humboldt, 2,069 beds were available on campus in 2022, the report said. The campus enrolled nearly 6,000 students.

    Humboldt also faces challenges unique to its location as the northernmost Cal State campus. Arcata, a city of about 19,000 people where Cal Poly Humboldt is located, is in the midst of its own housing crisis. Earlier this month, the City Council declared a shelter crisis.

    The declaration enabled the city to draw on funding to continue operating a safe parking program, which is operated by Arcata House Partnership, an organization that provides support for unhoused people. The program provides a space for residents who live in their cars to safely park and services including charging stations, bathrooms and meals, as they work to find stable housing.

    But the program is full, and up to 20 people at a time are on the waitlist, said Darlene Spoor, executive director of Arcata House Partnership. She said she would be “willing to have a conversation with people from the university about whether we could open a safe parking program for students.”

    Two people, one seated on a vehicle's hitch rack talk in a parking lot at night.

    Students Derek Beatty, left, and Caleb Chen hang out late at night in parking lot G11 at Cal Poly Humboldt.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Spoor said, more people have moved to Humboldt and purchased homes at high prices, pricing some longtime residents out of homebuying and driving up rental costs.

    Plans are underway to ease the strain on students. By fall 2025, Cal Poly Humboldt plans to build more on-campus dorms and apartments, increasing the number of available beds by 1,250.

    But on-campus options still remain out of reach for some students. A dorm room shared by three people and a required basic meal plan, for example, is expected to cost at least $10,900 per student next academic year. Room and board in a double costs about $13,000; a plan for a single dorm room runs more than $14,500 for the nine-month academic year.

    Neither of those options would have worked for Steven Childs. The 47-year-old wildlife major said he would not have attended Humboldt if he could not live out of his cargo van.

    He was scrolling YouTube one day when he came across a video that showed Humboldt students living in their cars. He thought to himself, “Oh, man, I think that’s my option. That’s the only way that seems reasonable.”

    Childs, who lives in the San Gabriel Valley when school is not in session, gave up work as a private investigator to attend Humboldt. His wife’s salary now supports them both.

    “I’m pushing 50, and I don’t want to be saddled with college debt through retirement,” he said. “I could sacrifice and live out of a vehicle.”

    Butterfield, the journalism major, could not find housing that worked within his budget range of $650 to $900 a month, plus security deposit and other fees.

    He decided to pay for his education with savings from service-industry and other jobs, and does not want student loans.

    Two people sit on a bench in an RV.

    Brad Butterfield and Maddy Montiel study in a camper parked on the Cal Poly Humboldt campus.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    He lives in an 1976 GMC Sportscoach that cost $9,500. He spends at least $200 a month on expenses for the RV, including insurance and propane.

    “I had a couple hundred dollars left in my bank account to come up here and try to live off of,” he said.

    On the night of Nov. 13 — hours after receiving citations for overnight camping — about 10 G11 students gathered inside a small university building. They worried they could face disciplinary action or lose their vehicles. Five unpaid tickets could get them towed.

    One student said he had struggled to fall asleep the night before, worried that parking enforcement would ticket him. Another student wondered aloud about what they would do next semester. They brainstormed ways to draw more attention to their fight.

    They talked about occupying a building. They discussed how they would appeal the parking violations, and weighed potential legal action. Two students said they planned to sleep overnight in a campus study room so footage from security cameras could prove they did not sleep in their vehicles.

    In the end, they agreed to stay in touch over a group chat to prepare for the upcoming weeklong fall break.

    A person and a dog stand between two RVs at night.

    Student Brad Butterfield outside his camper at the Cal Poly Humboldt campus.

    (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

    Montiel and Butterfield had decided to move their vehicles again, this time off campus, to a city street next to a university parking lot. They have to move the vehicles by 7 a.m, when the city begins enforcing metered parking restrictions.

    “Love you guys,” Montiel told the group before everyone went their separate ways.

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    Debbie Truong

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  • Post-affirmative action, Asian American families are more stressed than ever about college admissions

    Post-affirmative action, Asian American families are more stressed than ever about college admissions

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    The admissions consultant described what it takes to get into an elite college: Take 10 to 20 Advanced Placement courses. Create a “showstopper project.”

    Asian American students need to be extremely strategic in how they present themselves, “to avoid anti-Asian discrimination,” the consultant, Sasha Chada of Ivy Scholars, said at the October webinar to an audience of mostly Asian parents and students.

    Edward Yen, who doesn’t consider himself a “tiger parent,” wondered what extreme accomplishments his 11-year-old daughter will need to get into USC — considered a relative shoo-in back in the 1990s, when he attended.

    Parents and students at an annual college and career fair at Temple City High School.

    (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

    “I appreciated the honesty,” Yen said of Chada’s presentation, which was co-hosted by the Los Angeles County Asian American Employees Assn. and the nonprofit Faith and Community Empowerment.

    In the first college application season since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, Asian American students are more stressed out than ever. Race-conscious admissions were widely seen to have disadvantaged them, as borne out by disparities in the test scores of admitted students — but many feel that race will still be a hidden factor and that standards are even more opaque than before.

    At seminars like Chada’s around Southern California this fall, some held in Korean or Mandarin for immigrant parents, consultants reinforced the message — even students with superhuman qualifications are regularly rejected from Harvard and UC Berkeley.

    Parents who didn’t grow up in the American system, and who may have moved to the U.S. in large part for their children’s education, feel desperate and in the dark. Some shell out tens of thousands of dollars for consultants as early as junior high, fearing that anything less than a name-brand school could doom their children to an uncertain future. Sometimes, anxious students are the ones who ask their parents to hire a consultant.

    Some consultants say they try to push schools that fit the student best, not necessarily the top-ranked ones — even as skeptics wonder whether they are scare-mongering in an attempt to drum up business. But especially for parents from countries like South Korea, China and India, where a single exam determines a student’s college choices, the lack of objective standards can be overwhelming.

    “The worst part of stress comes out when kids feel helpless, not when someone sets a high bar for them,” said Chada, whose Indian father grew up in Northern Ireland.

    Yen pointed out that going to a top college is no guarantee for career success, with Asian Americans overrepresented at many campuses yet underrepresented in leadership positions in government and other workplaces.

    A woman stands next to her teenage daughter, who is wearing a mask.

    Julie Lin, left, and her 14-year-old daughter Jasmine Liao visit an annual college and career fair at Temple City High School.

    (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

    “A lot of our Asian parents are thinking it’s a golden ticket if you’re able to get into Harvard or Yale,” said Yen, president of the Los Angeles County Asian American Employees Assn., who lives in San Marino and whose parents immigrated from Taiwan. “I just want my daughter to be healthy, safe, and I want her to be successful in life.”

    Srikanth Nagarajan, a 52-year-old manager at DirecTV and an immigrant from India, has been nudging his daughter to shoot for top schools like Harvard.

    Sam Srikanth, a senior at El Segundo High, has a 4.41 GPA and has taken seven AP courses, which she said was the maximum number offered at her school. She is captain of the varsity swim team and is working on a research project about the role of race in college basketball recruiting.

    After asking teachers and school counselors to read her admissions essays, Srikanth decided to hire a private counselor. But she ended up not using the counselor’s suggestions because they didn’t feel like her voice.

    Srikanth said her “hopes got a little bit higher” after the Supreme Court’s decision.

    But with her last name, she said, “you actually fill out the application and realize there’s no way colleges won’t figure out what race you are.”

    Her older sister, who applied to colleges five years ago with a similar resume, got rejected from 18 of 20 or so schools and ended up at Boston College.

    “I can’t be let down if my expectations are already so low,” Srikanth said.

    When Sunny Lee came to the U.S. from South Korea in 2006 for postdoctoral work at USC, she thought that people could succeed in America even if they didn’t go to college.

    But after moving to San Marino about a decade ago to raise her three sons — the oldest is now in 7th grade — she saw neighbors hiring athletic coaches and academic consultants for kids who were still in elementary school.

    The moms she knows fret about students who seem like slam dunks being denied by top schools.

    “A student known as a genius at San Marino High ended up going to Pasadena City College,” said Lee, 48, a researcher at USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center. “Moms were having a mental breakdown.”

    A friend told Lee that she regretted spending only $3,000 for a consultant to go over her child’s admissions essays. For her next child, the friend would spend at least $10,000.

    With both her and her husband working full-time, Lee feels an admission consultant is necessary just to keep up, especially with opaqueness and unpredictability of college admissions.

    “It’s a fight over information,” she said.

    She said she doesn’t think her oldest son needs a consultant yet. But she would like her middle son, a fifth-grader, to start working with one.

    On the outskirts of Koreatown in July, dozens of Korean American students and parents attended a five-hour seminar hosted by Radio Seoul.

    Several admissions consultants said in Korean and English that the end of affirmative action could improve Asian American students’ chances of getting into elite colleges.

    One urged parents to give up their hobbies — no more golfing every weekend — so they can hover over their children.

    Won Jong Kim, director of the college consulting firm Boston Education, described several students who got into elite schools.

    Anna, who got into Harvard, took AP Calculus AB in 7th grade. Ben, who got into Stanford, took 15 AP classes.

    Esther’s academics weren’t “stellar,” Kim said — only a 4.3 GPA, 1520 SAT and nine AP courses. But in her personal statement, she wrote about her mother’s fight with breast cancer. And she was admitted to the University of Pennsylvania.

    “That was her trump card. It was a unique situation that she overcame,” Kim said. “To be frank, she got really lucky.”

    In an interview, Kim said he wanted to show the “common characteristics” of those who get into Ivy League schools.

    “Every year, the bar goes up for students looking to get into top colleges,” he said.

    Chung Lee, the chief consultant at Ivy Dream, said he tries to share information in free seminars hosted by various community organizations.

    Ethan Chen, 17, left, & Audrey Balthazar, 16, Arcadia High students, browse through material at annual college & career fair

    Ethan Chen, 17, left, and Audrey Balthazar, 16, both Arcadia High students, browse through material at a college and career fair at Temple City High School.

    (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

    “The colleges’ lack of transparency has created this sense of fear,” he said.

    In Temple City, Shun Zhang said she doesn’t want to put pressure on her son, Connor Sam.

    Zhang, a 48-year-old realtor, wants to give him the support structure she didn’t have growing up as an immigrant from China.

    Her only requirement is that he play a sport, to stay active and healthy. Still, Sam, a senior at Temple City High who is on the varsity soccer team and interns for Assemblymember Mike Fong, feels the need to push himself. He wants to double major in sociology and some kind of science at UCLA.

    Hoping to be “more organized and put together,” he asked his parents for a personal admissions counselor to help him reflect on his accomplishments and brainstorm essay topics. He has been working with the counselor for two years and finds it helpful.

    Sam, whose father is a refugee from Vietnam and works as a project manager, said he thinks about how well his parents have provided for him and wants to be as successful.

    Going to a good college would go a long way in securing a good job and “maintain where I am,” he said.

    But for all his hard work and preparation, he views college admissions as a crapshoot.

    “I don’t really know what they are looking for,” he said.

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    Jeong Park

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  • Newport Beach student suspended for remarks to another student, including “Free Palestine”

    Newport Beach student suspended for remarks to another student, including “Free Palestine”

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    A Corona Del Mar Middle and High School student was suspended this week for remarks made to another student that included the words “Free Palestine,” according to school officials and social media posts.

    Annette Franco, a spokeswoman for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, confirmed that the student was suspended but declined to provide any details. She emphasized in an email to the Times that students are not disciplined for exercising their right to free speech.

    “While we cannot share specifics of the situation, due to student privacy, we assure you that appropriate action was taken based on the facts of what occurred,” she wrote in a statement. “We value students freedom of speech, but we will not tolerate hateful speech in our schools, especially not hate speech that incites others to engage in this negative behavior.”

    The incident comes about a month after swastikas were tagged on the locker of a Jewish student, and after Hamas militants launched a brutal attack on southern Israel, sparking an ongoing war that has left 1,200 Israelis and 11,000 Palestinians dead. Authorities are investigating the swastika incident as a hate crime.

    The family of the student in the recent incident could not be reached for comment Saturday. But a woman identifying herself as Zeina on Instagram claimed she was the student’s aunt. In her post, she provided details about the incident with a photo of the suspension letter written by Jacob Haley, the principal at Corona Del Mar Middle and High School.

    In the suspension letter, the student is accused of violating two education codes that prohibits students from harassing and threatening other students. The letter read: “The incident that caused this suspension follows: [the student] said threatening remarks to a young lady in class. He said ‘Free Palestine’.”

    The student, whom The Times is not naming because he is a minor, was suspended for three days.

    In the Instagram post, the woman claimed her 13-year-old nephew had been called a “terrorist” by the female student and that her nephew responded by repeatedly saying, “Free Palestine”.

    The woman claimed it wasn’t the first time her nephew had been harassed at school.

    “Two weeks ago [he] was threatened with hate and racism comments by two Israeli students,” she wrote in her post. “The Israeli students told him go back to your country which is [Palestine] and started laughing, saying oh too bad you don’t have a country it’s getting bombed.”

    The woman said her sister reported it to the principal who told her he would speak to the two boys and that neither of them got suspended. In the same social media post, the woman also took video and photos of a book on Israel that was sitting on the principal’s desk, accusing him of being biased.

    Franco, the spokeswoman for the district, did not know if the two students in the most recent incident were suspended.

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    Ruben Vives

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  • Cal State East Bay offers cannabis online training certification programs, and registration is still open

    Cal State East Bay offers cannabis online training certification programs, and registration is still open

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    Cal State East Bay is the latest college — and first in the California State University system — to offer online training certification programs for people interested in working in the expanding cannabis industry.

    This month, Cal State East Bay welcomed its first cohort of students to its online offering of cannabis education courses.

    Course participants can learn about cannabis in healthcare and medicine, agriculture and horticulture, business (marketing, sales and management), and risk management.

    The courses were made possible through a partnership with Green Flower, a Ventura-based company that builds cannabis curriculum aimed at developing the industry’s workforce.

    Green Flower has 24 partnerships with local government, business leaders and educational institutions across the U.S., including UC Riverside.

    With the rapid growth of the cannabis industry, there are people who want to start businesses, work in the industry and those that are responsible for regulating the industry. That fits directly with the mission of UC Riverside’s extension programs, said Eric Latham, the university’s chief financial and administrative officer.

    The school’s industry-focused courses have proved successful: 334 students have participated in the program offerings.

    The latest connection to Cal State East Bay has been exciting for the company, said Max Simon, Green Flower’s CEO and co-founder.

    “Northern California has been the literal mecca for forever, and to have a state institution in Northern California deciding to offer cannabis education really tells us how far the industry has come and how much more legitimate this is as a career path,” Simon said.

    Nationally the cannabis industry experienced a hiring pause in 2022, according to a recent job report by Vangst, a Denver-based industry recruitment platform. It found that California shed 12,600 cannabis jobs, for a 13% year-to-year decline.

    The legal cannabis industry supports about 83,000 jobs in the state.

    Despite an overall hiring freeze, companies that are hiring are seeing high rates of competition. Simon said that when a job is posted a cannabis company will get 50 to 100 applicants.

    “What that tells you is there’s a lot of competition, and most people, from our experience, don’t have any professional cannabis background or training,” he said.

    In addition to specialized training and education, students receive a certificate from Cal State East Bay, which helps them stand out as job applicants and succeed in the complex industry, Simon said.

    Prospective students have until the end of the day Friday to register for classes. Here’s what you need to know about the course offerings and financial options.

    Course offerings

    The course offerings are available to anyone 18 years and older; no admissions process is required.

    The online training courses include specialization in health and medicine, agriculture, business and compliance, and risk management.

    Simon said a large portion of new cannabis consumers are interested from a medical perspective. Often the person is dealing with physical pain or a mental health disorder such as anxiety, he said.

    “That is someone that needs really specialized guidance and knowledge from [professionals] that understand the medical properties of cannabis, the different types and the dosages,” he said.

    The agricultural route focuses on the study of the plant’s botany and genetics, as well as growth techniques that include germination techniques and proper soil composition.

    Students who are interested in the business aspect of the industry can take courses in marketing, sales and management. Armed with an understanding of the fundamentals, students will also be able to explore the legal and regulatory frameworks of the business.

    Those who want to learn the risks related to operating a commercial cannabis business can enroll in the compliance and risk management track.

    The certification programs are each six months long and are asynchronous, an online system by which a student can learn on his or her own schedule. Each program will consists of three eight-week courses, which begin with Cannabis 101 followed by two more in the focus area that each student chooses.

    Financial options

    Each certificate program costs $2,950, which students can pay in full or by a $450-per-month plan after an initial $750 payment.

    The cannabis certificates do not count toward college credit, so they are not eligible for federal aid or grants. Scholarships are not available at this time.

    Eligible students may apply for a veterans discount by filling out a request online.

    The next start date of the program is Jan. 8, 2024. The school offers new course start dates about every 6 to 8 weeks.

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    Karen Garcia

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  • Highland fire in Riverside County is 100% contained

    Highland fire in Riverside County is 100% contained

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    After burning 2,487 acres, destroying 13 structures and damaging three more, the Highland fire was 100% contained on Sunday evening, according to Riverside County fire officials.

    The fire ignited Oct. 30 in grasses and brush in the Aguanga area and quickly exploded in size, driven by Santa Ana winds that swirled in the Inland Empire. More than 1,100 firefighters were deployed to attack the fire from the air and the ground.

    By Tuesday, around 4,000 people had been ordered to evacuate, and the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a smoke advisory the following day.

    All fire road closures and evacuation orders have since been lifted, but warnings remain in place for the fire perimeter area.

    Fire officials urged motorists to continue to be cautious while driving near the fire as crews continued to work in the region.

    The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

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    Dorany Pineda

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  • Authorities investigating hit-and-run of Arab Muslim student at Stanford as hate crime

    Authorities investigating hit-and-run of Arab Muslim student at Stanford as hate crime

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    An Arab Muslim student at Stanford University was struck by a driver in a hit-and-run collision that the California Highway Patrol is investigating as a hate crime, according to the university.

    The student was walking on campus about 2 p.m. Friday when the driver made eye contact before accelerating and striking the student, according to a news release from the university’s Department of Public Safety. The driver shouted, “F— you people,” as he sped away, the release said. The student’s injuries are not life-threatening.

    Stanford’s president, Richard Saller, sent a message to the community condemning the violence.

    “We are profoundly disturbed to hear this report of potentially hate-based physical violence on our campus. Violence on our campus is unacceptable,” he said. “Hate-based violence is morally reprehensible, and we condemn it in the strongest terms.”

    The driver remains at large, authorities said. The victim described him as “a white male in his mid-20s, with short dirty-blond hair and a short beard, wearing a gray shirt and round framed eyeglasses.”

    The vehicle was described as a black Toyota 4Runner, model 2015 or newer, with a tire mounted on the back with a Toyota logo in the center of the wheel. The victim said it had a white California license plate with the letters M and J, with M possibly the first letter and J in the middle.

    Campuses across the country have been pushed to confront anti-Arab racism, Islamophobia and antisemitism in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 surprise attack on Israel, in which militants killed 1,400 Israelis and took about 220 people hostage.

    Relentless attacks by Israel in the Gaza Strip in the weeks since have killed more than 9,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

    Earlier this month, Stanford Provost Jenny Martinez spoke to the university’s faculty senate, detailing concerns from Palestinian American and Muslim community members who fear for their safety and who have described “troubling incidents and interactions rooted in Islamophobia.” She also relayed that Jewish and Israeli students have reported feeling fearful on campus, “feeling that they are targets of hate because of their identity.”

    The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee has said it has heard from students across the country, including California, who have faced threats on campuses since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

    Abed Ayoub, the group’s national executive director, said his staff has also heard from students who are facing expulsion or losing job opportunities for expressing their beliefs. Others are having their social media posts monitored and are threatened with violence.

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    Debbie Truong

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  • A divide over the Israel-Hamas war flares at UC Berkeley Law

    A divide over the Israel-Hamas war flares at UC Berkeley Law

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    A week into the Israel-Hamas war, a Berkeley law professor published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal under the headline “Don’t Hire My Anti-Semitic Law Students.

    Backlash was swift. More than 200 alumni signed an open letter to the law school’s dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, urging him to “publicly address the harm” done by the article and to uphold freedom of speech for all students.

    In an email to the Berkeley Law community, Chemerinsky affirmed the school’s commitment to freedom of speech, including language that “others find offensive, even deeply offensive.” He also noted that the professor was expressing a personal opinion and did not speak for the law school.

    Then last weekend, Chemerinsky, a constitutional law scholar who is Jewish, published an op-ed of his own in the Los Angeles Times. He described antisemitic remarks directed at him since the war started, as well as statements from students and academics around the country that he said “celebrated the Hamas terrorist attack.”

    “There has been enough silence and enough tolerance of antisemitism on college campuses,” he wrote. “I call on my fellow university administrators to speak out and denounce the celebrations of Hamas and the blatant antisemitism that is being voiced.”

    Even before Hamas’ brutal Oct. 7 incursion into Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian issue had been a painful source of conflict on college campuses. The escalating war, including relentless Israeli airstrikes and a ground invasion of Gaza, has turned U.S. universities into battlegrounds over speech and the potential consequences of airing opinions that some regard as hateful.

    More than 1,400 people have died on the Israeli side, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack, and Palestinian militants are holding about 220 people hostage.

    More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. More than 1.4 million have fled their homes.

    At Berkeley Law, the inflammatory Wall Street Journal op-ed by Steven Davidoff Solomon, an expert on corporate law and an advisor to the Jewish law students association, has had a chilling effect, say some students who advocate for Palestinian rights.

    “Many feel uncomfortable speaking out beyond their private social media accounts,” said Matt Fernandes, a third-year law student and member of the Berkeley chapter of Law Students for Justice in Palestine. “Everyone’s scared. Everyone’s fearful. Everyone feels angry and betrayed by our own faculty.”

    In the op-ed, Solomon recommended against hiring his own students if they “advocate hate and practice discrimination.”

    He referenced a bylaw that the Berkeley chapter of Law Students for Justice in Palestine had adopted the previous academic year vowing not to “invite speakers that have expressed and continued to hold views or host/sponsor/promote events in support of Zionism, the apartheid state of Israel, and the occupation of Palestine.” Eight other campus organizations signed on to variations of the bylaw, which critics slammed as silencing Jewish students.

    “If you are a legal employer, when you interview students from Berkeley, Harvard, NYU or any other law school this year, ask them what organizations they belong to,” Solomon wrote. “Ask if they support discriminatory bylaws or other acts and resolutions blaming Jews and Israelis for the Hamas massacre. If a student endorses hatred, it isn’t only your right but your duty not to hire him.”

    Last month, a New York law firm rescinded a job offer to an NYU Law student who had written what the firm described as “inflammatory comments” about the Hamas attack. Another law firm initially rescinded offers to Harvard and Columbia students for similar reasons.

    The New York Times reported that about two dozen Wall Street law firms signed a letter to law schools cautioning that students hoping to be hired should be prepared to work under “zero tolerance policies for any form of discrimination or harassment, much less the kind that has been taking place on some law school campuses.”

    Fernandes said he feels that Solomon directly targeted marginalized students because most of the organizations that adopted the bylaw, some of which were named in the op-ed, represent students of color and queer students. Many of Fernandes’ peers are worried that by expressing support for the Palestinians, they could jeopardize their law careers or face online abuse.

    During the bylaw controversy, students associated with Law Students for Justice in Palestine were doxxed and deluged with hate mail, Fernandes said.

    At one point, a truck circled the campus displaying billboards that named several students, including Fernandes, and declared them part of “Berkeley Law’s Antisemitic Class of 2023.”

    Solomon did not respond to requests seeking comment.

    After Solomon’s op-ed was published on Oct. 15, Liz Jackson’s phone lit up with messages from fellow Berkeley Law alumni.

    Jackson is Jewish and a founding attorney with Palestine Legal, which defends the rights of people who speak in support of Palestinian freedom.

    “The content of his op-ed went around like wildfire,” she recalled. “It was shocking and racist, and very offensive to myself as a Jewish alumni and … students of all backgrounds who identify with Palestinians.”

    To Jackson, the opinion piece read as a call to punish law students who advocate for Palestinian rights, many of them students of color who already face barriers to employment.

    With other alumni, she began organizing the open letter to Chemerinsky, which, in addition to urging the dean to speak out, accused Solomon of violating the university’s free-speech values by threatening the safety and livelihoods of students based on their political opinions. And, the letter said, Solomon conflated “support for the Palestinian people or criticism of the Israeli government with antisemitism.”

    Asked in an interview on Monday if he thought Solomon’s op-ed was harmful to students, Chemerinsky said, “What else can I say other than — that isn’t the law school’s position, and we’ll help every student find a job?”

    Some law students said they largely agreed with Solomon.

    Jacob Shofet, a first-year student who is Jewish, said law firms have the right to choose their employees.

    “Everyone has a right to free speech. And law firms are free to hire who they want to hire,” he said. “At the same time, I think organizations on campus, both in the law school and UC Berkeley itself, have blurred the line between legitimate Palestinian issues and rights, and a support for terrorism that wants to see me dead.”

    Charlotte Aaron said that as a Jewish student she has felt increasingly unsafe on campus since the war started.

    Last week, Aaron said she retreated to her home in Arizona for a few days after watching some of her law school peers join hundreds of other students in a pro-Palestinian protest on campus, chanting phrases such as “smash the Zionist settler state.” The walkout was part of a national protest calling for Israel to end its siege of Gaza.

    At Cornell University, violent threats against Jewish students prompted campus police to increase security at the Center for Jewish Living last week.

    “Employers have an obligation to consider this moral failing,” said Aaron, a third-year student. “I wouldn’t want any person who justifies the murders of Oct. 7 and the holding of hostages to be my lawyer. I am deeply concerned about these individuals being in positions of power one day.”

    After initially taking no action, Chemerinsky emailed editors of campus law journals on Oct. 23, informing them that students can no longer receive academic credit for working on a journal that has adopted the bylaw.

    In his Oct. 29 op-ed, Chemerinsky noted that he strongly opposes “the policies of the Netanyahu government,” favors “full rights for Palestinians” and believes “that there must be a two-state solution.”

    But, he wrote, he can no longer stay silent when some people on college campuses are “calling for an end to Israel.”

    Aaron said she approves of Chemerinsky’s willingness to condemn antisemitism and feels “lucky” to attend a school he leads.

    But some alumni criticized Chemerinsky’s op-ed for failing to also condemn anti-Palestinian racism that students are experiencing. Jackson said she was alarmed that Chemerinsky would use his platform to “center his own personal discomfort” when “we’re watching a genocide committed in the name of Jewish safety.”

    She said Chemerinsky “smeared his own students” and ascribed a level of hate to them “that essentially is the same thing as the Solomon op-ed, but a little lighter.”

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    Debbie Truong

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  • Two Cincinnati Firms Help Cincinnati Non-Profit Create World-Class Animations for National Mindful Music Program for Student Wellbeing

    Two Cincinnati Firms Help Cincinnati Non-Profit Create World-Class Animations for National Mindful Music Program for Student Wellbeing

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    Two Cincinnati animation firms, Pixel Fiction and Lightborne, joined forces to support Mindful Music Moments, Cincinnati non-profit The Well’s signature program that brings world-class music in combination with daily creative, calming prompts to schools and classrooms in Greater Cincinnati and far beyond.

    The Well’s Director of Music and Arts Programs, Bryce Kessler says “We heard from a lot of our teachers that students need support in focusing their attention. As a small non-profit, we needed to find a dynamic, cost- and time-effective way to create daily video content in addition to daily audio content for all 300 schools and national partnerships we serve. Kessler continues, “we innovate and learn directly from our school partners and lean in to our 50+ schools in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to make sure we are always supporting the ever-changing environment.”

    Create your Free Account to Continue Reading

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    to access all our K-12 news and resources.

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    Tom Lamont is the painting and design technology instructor at Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School (BVT), in Upton, Massachusetts. Mr. Lamont offers his vocational high school students a unique hands-on opportunity to learn about the design industry and to prepare for jobs in the workforce.

    School leaders need to create opportunities for teachers as well as for students

    While some of the recent efforts focused on recruiting more teachers of color have paid off, keeping those teachers in our schools and classrooms is an urgent challenge. 

    5 positive ways students can use AI

    You’ve heard all the news about kids using ChatGPT to cheat, but there’s another side to this story. Just as the internet revolutionized education, AI will be the next game-changer.

    The importance of agency in successful edtech adoptions

    Education is changing because the world is changing. During the pandemic, teachers and students rapidly adopted new tools to pivot to remote and hybrid learning.

    How a true teacher hero advocates for student equity and belonging

    Now in his 10th year of teaching, John Arthur’s students have gained national recognition as champions for children and immigrants like them through music videos and other digital content they create and share across platforms.

    Building a representative STEM pipeline needs to start in kindergarten

    I believe that the low supply of STEM professionals can be attributed to significant barriers to entry originating in educational settings–this is to no fault of teachers and administrators, but how the educational system is structured.

    3 best practices to create a STEM-focused school

    The benefits of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education are numerous, and one would be hard-pressed to find a school district that doesn’t have a project, initiative, class, or lesson with the acronym in its title. 

    How efficacy studies improve literacy instruction

    Prior to the pandemic, reading achievement had been showing little to no growth. Scores have continued to decline, in part because of pandemic-related learning interruptions.

    Teacher helps implement the science of reading ‘one bite at a time’

    Indiana is in the midst of an enormous undertaking to improve literacy rates. The approach: Align state standards, curriculum, and teacher training programs with practices rooted in the science of reading.

    How schools can help students overcome the digital divide

    When it comes to digital equity, U.S. schools are well-positioned to help families get online with low-cost, high-speed internet options through the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program

    Want to share a great resource? Let us know at submissions@eschoolmedia.com.

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    ESchool News Staff

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  • How a true teacher hero advocates for student equity and belonging

    How a true teacher hero advocates for student equity and belonging

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    The 2023 eSchool News K-12 Hero Awards honors educators for their exemplary use of innovative edtech to support student learning. Interviewed and profiled here is winner John Arthur, a 6th grade teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School nominated by Follett. Stay tuned for two more winner profiles to come.

    John Arthur, a sixth-grade teacher at Meadowlark Elementary School in Salt Lake City, was the 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year and one of four finalists for 2021 National Teacher of the Year.

    Create your Free Account to Continue Reading

    eSchool News is Free for qualified educators. Sign up or login
    to access all our K-12 news and resources.

    Please confirm your email address

    More News from eSchool News

    I believe that the low supply of STEM professionals can be attributed to significant barriers to entry originating in educational settings–this is to no fault of teachers and administrators, but how the educational system is structured.

    3 best practices to create a STEM-focused school

    The benefits of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education are numerous, and one would be hard-pressed to find a school district that doesn’t have a project, initiative, class, or lesson with the acronym in its title. 

    How efficacy studies improve literacy instruction

    Prior to the pandemic, reading achievement had been showing little to no growth. Scores have continued to decline, in part because of pandemic-related learning interruptions.

    Teacher helps implement the science of reading ‘one bite at a time’

    Indiana is in the midst of an enormous undertaking to improve literacy rates. The approach: Align state standards, curriculum, and teacher training programs with practices rooted in the science of reading.

    How schools can help students overcome the digital divide

    When it comes to digital equity, U.S. schools are well-positioned to help families get online with low-cost, high-speed internet options through the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program

    Investing in mentorship can help the teacher retention crisis

    Mentorship is an essential aspect of professional growth and development for early childhood educators, but for many training programs, mentorship components are either not well supported or are missing altogether.

    OpenAI releases ChatGPT teaching guide

    Educators face myriad dilemmas in the wake of ChatGPT’s explosion, with some of the most popular including teaching with ChatGPT and how to address student use of AI chatbots in assignments.

    Empowering staff and students with a sense of belonging

    Belonging is a fundamental human need. We are all searching for a sense of connection with the people and places in our lives. Students and school staff are no different.

    5 models that prioritize learner-centered education

    School models are, for the most part, outdated–and very overdue for replacement. When students reach high school, research shows that close to 66 percent of students are disengaged.

    4 essential resources for building research skills in high school

    Our students’ belief that everything they need to know is online can, without the right skillset, leave them prey to misinformation. So how do we teach our students to steer through the online ocean of data to be both effective researchers and responsible digital citizens?

    Want to share a great resource? Let us know at submissions@eschoolmedia.com.

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    Laura Ascione

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  • After deaths of four Pepperdine students on Pacific Coast Highway, a memorial and a call to action

    After deaths of four Pepperdine students on Pacific Coast Highway, a memorial and a call to action

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    Following the death of four Pepperdine seniors who were struck by a driver in Malibu, grieving family and friends began to share memories of the young women in social media posts and at a vigil Thursday morning.

    The four seniors — Niamh Rolston, Peyton Stewart, Asha Weir and Deslyn Williams — were sisters in the Alpha Phi sorority. Shortly before 9 p.m. Tuesday, a car slammed into three parked vehicles and hit the four women, who investigators believe were standing near the parked vehicles when they were struck, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

    Fraser Michael Bohm, 22, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, said sheriff’s Sgt. Maria Navarro, watch commander at the Malibu/Lost Hills station.

    Residents and local business owners, including Chris Wizner, founder of marketing agency Vivid Candi, said they want a solution to the speeding and consequential accidents in their community.

    Wizner said he and others are planning to attend the Malibu City Council meeting on Monday to demand action as well as post signs from their homes with the message that drivers should slow down and another that says “Speeders cause murders.”

    At the vigil, faculty expressed their sympathies through prayer to the grieving students, friends and family in attendance. The social media profiles of the slain women were also inundated with comments from mourners who expressed shock, sadness and anger at the crash that took their lives.

    Morning classes at Seaver College, the liberal arts college attended by the four women, were canceled so that students could attend the prayer and reflection service and mourn their fellow classmates.

    School officials also announced that all four victims, who were set to graduate this academic year, would receive their degrees posthumously.

    “Each departed student brought a unique gift and spirit to the University,” said Pepperdine President Jim Gash, “and we deeply grieve the unfulfilled hopes and aspirations of our precious community members.”

    Here’s what we know so far about the victims based on online profiles, interviews with friends and social media posts:

    Niamh Rolston

    Rolston was a business major in the class of 2024, according to LinkedIn. Her sorority wrote on Instagram that she loved “reading, binging netflix tv shows, and yoga.”

    Nikki Strawn, 31, said she hadn’t seen Rolston in years but the two kept up with each other on Instagram.

    Strawn was Rolston’s former gymnastics coach at Gymnastics Olympica USA Inc. in 2014 when Rolston was a teenager.

    “That’s what makes it so sad, you know, she was so determined and so motivated and she was always a role model to all the other girls,” Strawn said. “So it’s so sad that was cut short from her.”

    Strawn describes her friend as a very motivated gymnast who set her mind to anything she did and was a very “happy-go-lucky girl.”

    “She was a little bit shy when you first met her, but as soon as she opened up, she was very silly and always put a smile to your face,” she said.

    Peyton Stewart

    Stewart was also a business major and wrote on LinkedIn that she was interested in a career in finance. In February, she told the school paper, the Pepperdine University Graphic, that she enjoyed following fashion and exercise trends on social media.

    “Skincare is a huge thing for me because it’s part of my day where I can just relax,” Stewart told the paper.

    “i’ll never forget your smile and your sweet hugs whenever i saw you,” Rianna Dizon, a Pepperdine classmate, wrote on Instagram.

    Asha Weir

    Weir was an English major. She wrote on LinkedIn that she was interested in fashion and music.

    “She loves travel and adventure and to go to school beside the ocean has been a dream for her,” her high school, Perkiomen Valley in suburban Philadelphia, wrote in a Facebook post in 2020 as she prepared for college.

    “She had the biggest heart and was sweet to her core. She was pure and kind. She was selfless and brought joy to others,” Vivid Candi, the marketing agency where Weir worked, wrote in an Instagram post.

    Vivid Candi’s founder and chief executive, Wizner, described Weir as a superstar and one of the most memorable people he has ever worked with.

    They two met when Wizner was president and chairman of the Malibu Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce. When he stepped down over a year ago he fought for Weir to join him on his team at Vivid Candi.

    About a month ago, Wizner said Weir left the company in good standing to focus on her senior year.

    “My wife loves her too, she touched my wife’s soul in the most positive way,” he said.

    “If you get the big picture, she is the sweetest girl in the entire universe that did not deserve this,” Wizner said.

    Deslyn Williams

    Williams grew up in the state of Georgia, according to the Pepperdine University Graphic. She was vice president of the school’s Pre-Veterinary Club.

    “Her empathy and compassion for the animals and people that she served was an example for us all,” the club wrote on Instagram.

    “You were the life of the party. You always had the best outfits for the occasion and were the best photographer. Your laughter was contagious,” wrote Fiona Moriarty, a friend of Williams’, on Instagram.

    Times staff writers Grace Toohey and Jeremy Childs contributed to this report.

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    Terry Castleman, Karen Garcia

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  • These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

    These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

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    Financial literacy peaks at age 54, according to a 2022 study. That’s around the time you’ve gained enough knowledge and experience to make sound money decisions — and before your cognitive ability might start to ebb.

    “As we get older, we seem to rely more on past experience, rules of thumb, and intuitive knowledge about which products and strategies are better,” said Rafal Chomik, an economist in Australia who led the study.

    If people in their mid-50s tend to make smart financial moves, where does that leave younger generations?

    Advisers often educate clients at different stages of life to avoid money mistakes. While those in their 50s usually demonstrate optimal prudence  in navigating investments and savings, advisers keep busy helping others — from twentysomethings to mid-career professionals — avoid costly financial blunders:

    Navigate your 20s

    Perhaps the biggest blunder for young earners is spending too much and saving too little. They may also lack the long-term perspective that encourages long-range planning.

    “The mistake is not establishing the saving habit early, and not appreciating the power of compounding” over time, said Mark Kravietz, a certified financial planner in Melville, N.Y.

    Similarly, it’s common for young workers to delay enrolling in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Not participating from the get-go comes with a steep long-term cost.

    “ Better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run. ”

    People in their 20s process incoming information quickly. But their high level of fluid intelligence can work against them. Cursory research into a consumer trend or hot sector of the stock market can spur them to make rash investments. Such impulsive moves might backfire.

    “It’s important to resist the hype,” Kravietz said. “Don’t chase fads or try to make fast money” by timing the market.

    Many young adults with student debt juggle multiple loans. Eager to chip away at their debt, they fall into the trap of choosing the wrong loan to tackle first, says Megan Kowalski, an adviser in Boca Raton, Fla.

    Rather than pay off the highest-interest rate loan first (so-called avalanche debt), they mistakenly focus on the smallest loan (a.k.a. snowball debt). It’s better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run.

    Navigate your 30s

    “ Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay. ”

    By your 30s, insurance grows in importance. You want to protect what you have — now and in the future. But many people in this age group neglect their insurance needs. Or they misunderstand which coverages matter most.

    “If you have a life partner and kids, get the proper life insurance while in your 30s,” Kravietz said. 

    It’s easy to get caught up in your career and assume you can put off life insurance. But even low odds of your untimely death doesn’t mean you can ignore the risk of leaving your loved ones without a cash cushion.

    Another common blunder involves disability insurance. If your employer offers short-term disability insurance as an employee perk, you may think you’re all set.

    However, the real risk is how you’d earn income if you suffer a serious and lasting illness or injury. Don’t confuse short-term disability insurance (which might cover you for as long as one year) with long-term disability coverage that pays benefits for many years.

    Assuming you were wise enough to enroll in your employer-sponsored retirement plan from the outset, don’t slough off in your 30s. Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay.

    “You want to give till it hurts,” Kravietz said. “Keep putting money away” in your 401(k) or other tax-advantaged plan until you feel a sting. Weigh the minor pain you feel now against the major relief of having a much bigger nest egg decades from now.

    Navigate your 40s

    “ ‘The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life. Life is getting more complicated.’”

    For Kravietz, the 40s represent a decade of heavy spending pressures. Mid-career professionals face a mortgage and mounting tuition bills for their children.

    “The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life,” he said. “Life is getting more complicated.”

    As a result, it’s easy to overlook seemingly minor financial matters like updating beneficiaries on your 401(k) plan or completing all the appropriate estate documents such as a will.

    “People in their 40s sometimes fail to update beneficiaries,” Kravietz said. For example, a new marriage might mean changing the beneficiary from a prior partner or current parent to the new spouse.

    It’s also easy to get complacent about your investments, especially if you’re the conservative type who favors a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Instead, think in terms of tax optimization.

    “In your 40s, you want to take advantage of what the government gives you,” Kravietz said. “If you have a lot of money in a bank money market account and you’re in a top tax bracket, shifting some of that money into municipal bonds can make sense” depending on your state of residence and other factors.

    If you’re saving for a child’s college tuition using a 529 plan — and you have parents who also want to chip in — work together to strategize. Don’t make assumptions about how much (or how little) your parents might contribute to your kid’s education.

    “Rather than assume you’ll have to pay a certain amount for educational expenses, coordinate between generations of parents and grandparents” on how much they intend to give, Kowalski said. “That way, you’re not duplicating efforts and you won’t put extra funds in a 529 plan.”

    More: 7 more ways to save that you may not have considered

    Also read: ‘We live a rather lavish lifestyle’: My wife and I are 33, live in New York City and earn $270,000. Can we retire at 55?

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  • These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

    These are the biggest money mistakes we make in our 20s, 30s and 40s

    [ad_1]

    Financial literacy peaks at age 54, according to a 2022 study. That’s around the time you’ve gained enough knowledge and experience to make sound money decisions — and before your cognitive ability might start to ebb.

    “As we get older, we seem to rely more on past experience, rules of thumb, and intuitive knowledge about which products and strategies are better,” said Rafal Chomik, an economist in Australia who led the study.

    If people in their mid-50s tend to make smart financial moves, where does that leave younger generations?

    Advisers often educate clients at different stages of life to avoid money mistakes. While those in their 50s usually demonstrate optimal prudence  in navigating investments and savings, advisers keep busy helping others — from twentysomethings to mid-career professionals — avoid costly financial blunders:

    Navigate your 20s

    Perhaps the biggest blunder for young earners is spending too much and saving too little. They may also lack the long-term perspective that encourages long-range planning.

    “The mistake is not establishing the saving habit early, and not appreciating the power of compounding” over time, said Mark Kravietz, a certified financial planner in Melville, N.Y.

    Similarly, it’s common for young workers to delay enrolling in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. Not participating from the get-go comes with a steep long-term cost.

    “ Better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run. ”

    People in their 20s process incoming information quickly. But their high level of fluid intelligence can work against them. Cursory research into a consumer trend or hot sector of the stock market can spur them to make rash investments. Such impulsive moves might backfire.

    “It’s important to resist the hype,” Kravietz said. “Don’t chase fads or try to make fast money” by timing the market.

    Many young adults with student debt juggle multiple loans. Eager to chip away at their debt, they fall into the trap of choosing the wrong loan to tackle first, says Megan Kowalski, an adviser in Boca Raton, Fla.

    Rather than pay off the highest-interest rate loan first (so-called avalanche debt), they mistakenly focus on the smallest loan (a.k.a. snowball debt). It’s better to prioritize debt with the highest interest rate, which can result in paying less interest over the long run.

    Navigate your 30s

    “ Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay. ”

    By your 30s, insurance grows in importance. You want to protect what you have — now and in the future. But many people in this age group neglect their insurance needs. Or they misunderstand which coverages matter most.

    “If you have a life partner and kids, get the proper life insurance while in your 30s,” Kravietz said. 

    It’s easy to get caught up in your career and assume you can put off life insurance. But even low odds of your untimely death doesn’t mean you can ignore the risk of leaving your loved ones without a cash cushion.

    Another common blunder involves disability insurance. If your employer offers short-term disability insurance as an employee perk, you may think you’re all set.

    However, the real risk is how you’d earn income if you suffer a serious and lasting illness or injury. Don’t confuse short-term disability insurance (which might cover you for as long as one year) with long-term disability coverage that pays benefits for many years.

    Assuming you were wise enough to enroll in your employer-sponsored retirement plan from the outset, don’t slough off in your 30s. Resist the temptation to lower your 401(k) contribution to boost your take-home pay.

    “You want to give till it hurts,” Kravietz said. “Keep putting money away” in your 401(k) or other tax-advantaged plan until you feel a sting. Weigh the minor pain you feel now against the major relief of having a much bigger nest egg decades from now.

    Navigate your 40s

    “ ‘The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life. Life is getting more complicated.’”

    For Kravietz, the 40s represent a decade of heavy spending pressures. Mid-career professionals face a mortgage and mounting tuition bills for their children.

    “The 40s are often the most expensive in anyone’s life,” he said. “Life is getting more complicated.”

    As a result, it’s easy to overlook seemingly minor financial matters like updating beneficiaries on your 401(k) plan or completing all the appropriate estate documents such as a will.

    “People in their 40s sometimes fail to update beneficiaries,” Kravietz said. For example, a new marriage might mean changing the beneficiary from a prior partner or current parent to the new spouse.

    It’s also easy to get complacent about your investments, especially if you’re the conservative type who favors a set-it-and-forget-it strategy. Instead, think in terms of tax optimization.

    “In your 40s, you want to take advantage of what the government gives you,” Kravietz said. “If you have a lot of money in a bank money market account and you’re in a top tax bracket, shifting some of that money into municipal bonds can make sense” depending on your state of residence and other factors.

    If you’re saving for a child’s college tuition using a 529 plan — and you have parents who also want to chip in — work together to strategize. Don’t make assumptions about how much (or how little) your parents might contribute to your kid’s education.

    “Rather than assume you’ll have to pay a certain amount for educational expenses, coordinate between generations of parents and grandparents” on how much they intend to give, Kowalski said. “That way, you’re not duplicating efforts and you won’t put extra funds in a 529 plan.”

    More: 7 more ways to save that you may not have considered

    Also read: ‘We live a rather lavish lifestyle’: My wife and I are 33, live in New York City and earn $270,000. Can we retire at 55?

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  • A Black Student’s Family Sues Texas’ Governor And AG Over His Suspension For His Hairstyle

    A Black Student’s Family Sues Texas’ Governor And AG Over His Suspension For His Hairstyle

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    HOUSTON (AP) — The family of a Black high school student in Texas on Saturday filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state’s governor and attorney general over his ongoing suspension by his school district for his hairstyle.

    Darryl George, 17, a junior at Barbers Hill High School in Mont Belvieu, has been serving an in-school suspension since Aug. 31 at the Houston-area school. School officials say his dreadlocks fall below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violate the district’s dress code.

    George’s mother, Darresha George, and the family’s attorney deny the teenager’s hairstyle violates the dress code, saying his hair is neatly tied in twisted dreadlocks on top of his head.

    The lawsuit accuses Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton of failing to enforce the CROWN Act, a new state law outlawing racial discrimination based on hairstyles. Darryl George’s supporters allege the ongoing suspension by the Barbers Hill Independent School District violates the law, which took effect Sept. 1.

    The lawsuit alleges Abbott and Paxton, in their official duties, have failed to protect Darryl George’s constitutional rights against discrimination and against violations of his freedom of speech and expression. Darryl George “should be permitted to wear his hair in the manner in which he wears it … because the so-called neutral grooming policy has no close association with learning or safety and when applied, disproportionately impacts Black males,” according to the lawsuit.

    The lawsuit, filed in Houston federal court by Darryl George’s mother, is the latest legal action taken related to the suspension.

    On Tuesday, Darresha George and her attorney filed a formal complaint with the Texas Education Agency, alleging Darryl George is being harassed and mistreated by school district officials over his hair and that his in-school suspension is in violation of the CROWN Act.

    They allege that during his suspension, Darryl George is forced to sit for eight hours on a stool and that he’s being denied the hot free lunch he’s qualified to receive. The agency is investigating the complaint.

    Darresha George said she was recently hospitalized after a series of panic and anxiety attacks brought on from stress related to her son’s suspension.

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  • Progressive Issue Groups Find Public Enemy No. 1: The Supreme Court

    Progressive Issue Groups Find Public Enemy No. 1: The Supreme Court

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    It didn’t land with the same kind of political explosion as Dobbs. But the Supreme Court’s decision last year in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency was every bit as outrageous: The six-member conservative majority, in handcuffing the EPA’s regulatory authority, had “declared war on governing,” as my colleague Cristian Farias put it at the time—and underscored, for Doug Lindner, the desperate need for judicial reform.

    “We decided that that was a step too far,” says Lindner, senior director of judiciary and democracy at the League of Conservation Voters, the influential environmental advocacy group. The Court, he tells me, was “serving the interests of the polluters,” and had not only shifted too far to the right—it had become too powerful.

    Lindner is hardly alone in that sentiment; he’s part of a growing recognition on the left that progress in the policy arena could be entirely undermined by an activist, right-wing court that has come to seem less like a judicial body and more like an unelected “superlegislature,” as Democratic representative Ritchie Torres put it last week. That’s why a diverse coalition of advocacy organizations—including the League of Conservation Voters—has banded together recently to form United for Democracy, which hopes to move the needle on Supreme Court reform. Stasha Rhodes, the director of the campaign, acknowledges that “it’s not an easy fight.” The Supreme Court is “broken,” she says, and Democrats can’t fix it right now without the support of the very Republicans who helped break it. But Rhodes tells me that she remains “hopeful that the momentum will turn into something.”

    “Issue groups that may have been hesitant to weigh in on the Supreme Court before now understand that they don’t have a choice, because the Supreme Court impacts all of our issues, from pollution and the water we drink to safety in our communities to our most personal health care decisions,” Rhodes says of the effort, which has so far sought to build public pressure on lawmakers to act. “As we start to increase the drumbeat on this issue, and include more people outside of Washington in the conversation, I think we feel really good about our ability to move Congress in a way that they start to take action.”

    The campaign—which launched in mid-June, before the conservative majority further undermined the Environmental Protection Agency; struck down Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan and affirmative action in college admissions; and effectively authorized discrimination against LGBTQ+ Americans—includes a number of progressive heavy hitters, including NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Service Employees International Union, one of the largest and most influential unions in the country. The hope, for Rhodes and the groups involved, is that there will be strength in numbers—that these disparate organizations will be able to highlight, for Democratic- and Republican-leaning voters alike, the Court’s “willingness to break those traditional norms, showing that they’re too powerful, too political, and unfit to meet today’s challenges,” Rhodes explains.

    “We’re not going to stand by as corrupt justices repeal our fundamental rights,” echoes SEIU president Mary Kay Henry, “while acting like the rules don’t apply to them.”

    That could add to the already growing momentum around Supreme Court reform that has built up in the wake of devastating decisions like Dobbs and the conflict of interest scandals that have erupted around Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two stalwarts of the right-wing supermajority. The question now is: How can the campaign best channel that momentum? And will it be enough to actually effect change?

    Legal fights have always been instrumental to movements for labor, abortion, gun control, civil rights, and beyond. But Dobbs—which overturned half a century of precedent last year in ending the federal right to an abortion—threw the Supreme Court’s outsize role in those battles into stark relief. It’s as if “there’s this one massive national veto pen, basically, in the Supreme Court, that can change or dictate our rights on a whim,” says Angela Vasquez-Giroux, vice president of communications and research at NARAL Pro-Choice America.

    So far, several proposals have gained traction on the left—from adding seats to the bench to imposing stricter, more common-sense ethics and transparency rules—to avoid further politicizing the scandal-plagued court. Even Nancy Pelosi—the former House Speaker who’s often at loggerheads with her progressive flank—has recently come out in favor of term-limiting justices.

    But those reforms have hit a brick wall in Washington: Chief Justice John Roberts and his colleagues have brushed off concerns about ethics scandals and partisan rulings; Republicans have accused Democrats of mounting political attacks on the conservative majority; and President Joe Biden has so far refused to embrace major reform, even as he correctly laments that the Roberts court is “not a normal court.”

    Still, popular outrage and growing activism around reform over the past year do seem to be having an impact, at least on the Democratic lawmakers who have become more assertive in their calls for Supreme Court overhauls. Meanwhile, some of the most influential issue groups in the country—including Planned Parenthood, which endorsed Supreme Court expansion, term limits, and ethics reform in May—are adding even more fuel to the fire.

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    To be sure, the path forward for reform is very rocky. Public trust in the Supreme Court has been at a historic low, and that has so far seemed to have little effect on the conservative justices and their Republican defenders, who have made change all but impossible in the current Congress.

    Any substantive action, then, will likely depend on Democrats winning back the House, expanding their majority in the Senate, and retaining the presidency in 2024. That’s not impossible: The GOP already suffered the public’s outrage at the Court last cycle, and could pay the price again next fall. But unless and until that happens, the hope for reform will continue to butt up against the reality of a divided Washington. “I wish that Supreme Court ethics weren’t a partisan issue,” Lindner says. “Ethics never should be a partisan issue. But then again, neither should clean air, clean water, or voting rights be partisan issues, and yet here we are.”

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    Eric Lutz

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  • Unbelievable facts

    Unbelievable facts

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  • Rent or buy? Here’s how to make that decision in the current real estate market

    Rent or buy? Here’s how to make that decision in the current real estate market

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    Choosing whether to rent or buy has never been a simple decision — and this ever-changing housing market isn’t making it any easier. With surging mortgage rates, record rents and home prices, a potential economic downturn and other lifestyle considerations, there’s so much to factor in.

    “This is an extraordinarily unique market because of the pandemic and because there was such a run on housing so you have home prices very high, you also have rent prices very high,” said Diana Olick, senior climate and real estate correspondent for CNBC.

    By the numbers, renting is often cheaper. On average across the 50 largest metro areas in the U.S., a typical renter pays about 40% less per month than a first-time homeowner, based on asking rents and monthly mortgage payments, according to Realtor.com.

    In December 2022, it was more cost-effective to rent than buy in 45 of those metros, the real estate site found. That’s up from 30 markets the prior year.

    How does that work out in terms of monthly costs? In the top 10 metro regions that favored renting, monthly starter homeownership costs were an average of $1,920 higher than rents.

    But that has not proven to be the case for everyone.

    Leland and Stephanie Jernigan recently purchased their first home in Cleveland for $285,000 — or about $100 per square foot. The family of seven will also have Leland’s mother, who has been fighting breast cancer, moving in with them.

    By their calculations, this move — which expands their space threefold and allowing them to take care of Leland’s mother — will be saving them more than $700 per month.

    ‘You don’t buy a house based on the price of the house’

    “You don’t buy a house based on the price of the house,” Olick said. “You buy it based on the monthly payment that’s going to be principal and interest and insurance and property taxes. If that calculation works for you and it’s not that much of your income, perhaps a third of your income, then it’s probably a good bet for you, especially if you expect to stay in that home for more than 10 years. You will build equity in the home over the long term, and renting a house is really just throwing money out.”

    Mortgage rates dropped slightly in early March, due to the stress on the banking system from the recent bank failures. They are moving up again, although they are currently not as high as they were last fall. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.59% as of April — up from 3.3% around the same time in 2021.

    But that hasn’t significantly dampened demand.

    “As the markets kind of bubbled in certain parts of the country and other parts of the country priced out, we’ve seen a lot of investors coming in looking for affordable homes that they can buy and rent,” said Michael Azzam, a real estate agent and founder of The Azzam Group in Cleveland.

    “We’re still seeing relatively high demand” he added. “Prices have still continued to appreciate even with interest rates where they’re at. And so we’re still seeing a pretty active market here.”

    Buying a home is part of the American Dream

    The Jernigans are achieving a big part of the American Dream. Buying a home is a life event that 74% of respondents in a 2022 Bankrate survey ranked as the highest gauge of prosperity — eclipsing even having a career, children or a college degree.

    The purchase is also a full-circle moment for Leland, who grew up in East Cleveland, where his family was on government assistance.

    “I came from a single-mother home who struggled to put food on the table and always wanted better for her children … it was more criminals than there were police … It is not the type of neighborhood that I wanted my children to grow up in,” said Jernigan.

    The new homeowner also has his eye on building a brighter future for more children than just his own. Jernigan plans to purchase homes in his old neighborhood, renovate them and create a safe space for those growing up like he did.

    “I’m here because someone saw me and saw the potential in me and gave me advice that helped me. … and I just want to pay it forward to someone else” Jernigan said.

    Watch the video above to learn more.

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  • Ralston 5th grader raises $2,000 for grieving, struggling teacher

    Ralston 5th grader raises $2,000 for grieving, struggling teacher

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    The bond between a Ralston teacher and her fifth-grade student is stronger than ever. Janice Rhods is mourning her baby boy. He recently died after dealing with a rare heart issue. But about a month before, fifth-grade student Adrianna Case stepped up to help in a big way.It’s been about two weeks since Rhods lost a huge piece of her world.”I think of his smile. Honestly, I think of him now in peace,” Rhods said.Her 5-and-a-half-month-old son Caden suffered from hypoplastic left heart syndrome.”His life was one that was filled of pain and hospital stays. He was happiest when he was outside, and he only got that for a couple months,” Rhods said. “Out of the 5-and-a-half months that he was alive, he was home for two of them.”In November, Caden caught a common cold which led to a fever and a high heart rate.”Everything escalated super quickly,” Rhods said.Caden passed away on Nov. 17.”A combination of all of that, they think his heart was just overworking. His heart was super, super fragile,” Rhods said.Rhods teaches fifth grade at Karen Western Elementary School in Ralston. So far this school year, she has spent a lot of time out of the classroom to be by Caden’s side.”You’re trying to be there for your son and for my two other kids I have at home and then I’m also trying to be there for my students,” she said.Rhods’ student, Case, noticed that struggle about a month before Caden died, and decided she wanted to do whatever she could to help. “I got him a blanket and I felt like that wasn’t enough so I started a GoFundMe,” Case said.With the help of her mom, Case was able to create a GoFundMe, raising $2,000 for her favorite teacher.”I thought it would just be, not like to $2,000. I thought it would just be like a couple hundred dollars,” Case said.For Rhods, the joy of all of this is about so much more than the money.”It’s more of, what she did to show her compassion and caring for others. Because she showed that for me, I know she’d do that to other people,” Rhods said.”I truly love her,” Case said about Rhods.Rhods said she’ll go back to work Monday. She said she doesn’t think she’d be able to make it through if it weren’t for her amazing students like Adrianna.

    RALSTON, Neb. —

    The bond between a Ralston teacher and her fifth-grade student is stronger than ever. Janice Rhods is mourning her baby boy. He recently died after dealing with a rare heart issue. But about a month before, fifth-grade student Adrianna Case stepped up to help in a big way.

    It’s been about two weeks since Rhods lost a huge piece of her world.

    “I think of his smile. Honestly, I think of him now in peace,” Rhods said.

    Her 5-and-a-half-month-old son Caden suffered from hypoplastic left heart syndrome.

    “His life was one that was filled of pain and hospital stays. He was happiest when he was outside, and he only got that for a couple months,” Rhods said. “Out of the 5-and-a-half months that he was alive, he was home for two of them.”

    In November, Caden caught a common cold which led to a fever and a high heart rate.

    “Everything escalated super quickly,” Rhods said.

    Caden passed away on Nov. 17.

    “A combination of all of that, they think his heart was just overworking. His heart was super, super fragile,” Rhods said.

    Rhods teaches fifth grade at Karen Western Elementary School in Ralston. So far this school year, she has spent a lot of time out of the classroom to be by Caden’s side.

    “You’re trying to be there for your son and for my two other kids I have at home and then I’m also trying to be there for my students,” she said.

    Rhods’ student, Case, noticed that struggle about a month before Caden died, and decided she wanted to do whatever she could to help.

    “I got him a blanket and I felt like that wasn’t enough so I started a GoFundMe,” Case said.

    With the help of her mom, Case was able to create a GoFundMe, raising $2,000 for her favorite teacher.

    “I thought it would just be, not like to $2,000. I thought it would just be like a couple hundred dollars,” Case said.

    For Rhods, the joy of all of this is about so much more than the money.

    “It’s more of, what she did to show her compassion and caring for others. Because she showed that for me, I know she’d do that to other people,” Rhods said.

    “I truly love her,” Case said about Rhods.

    Rhods said she’ll go back to work Monday. She said she doesn’t think she’d be able to make it through if it weren’t for her amazing students like Adrianna.

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  • Four plead guilty in financial aid fraud case involving sham university in Columbus

    Four plead guilty in financial aid fraud case involving sham university in Columbus

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    Four plead guilty in financial aid fraud case

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  • Parenting 101: What you should know about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day

    Parenting 101: What you should know about National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, or Orange Shirt Day

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    Each year, September 30th marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. The day honours the children who never returned home and acknowledges the survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. 

    It’s also Orange Shirt Day, which is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept that “Every Child Matters”.  

    Here are a few events that will honour this cause:

    Illuminating Parliament Hill

    To commemorate the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and to honour the Survivors, their families and communities, buildings across Canada will be illuminated in orange from September 30th at 7pm to sunrise October 1st. This will include federal buildings such as the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill.

    Remembering the children

    A one-hour national commemorative gathering will be broadcast live from Ottawa’s LeBreton Flats on September 30, 2022. Check your local listings.

    Truth and Reconciliation Week

    This bilingual educational program is open to all schools across Canada. All sessions will be held virtually, allowing classroom participation from across the country and the involvement of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. From September 26-30, 2022, registration is required.

    Former residential school students can call 1-866-925-4419 for emotional crisis referral services and information on other health supports from the Government of Canada. Indigenous peoples across Canada can also go to The Hope for Wellness Help Line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for counselling and crisis intervention. Call the toll-free Help Line at 1-855-242-3310 or connect to the online chat.

    – Jennifer Cox

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  • A Safer Audio Listening Solution for Early Learners

    A Safer Audio Listening Solution for Early Learners

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    Addressing the audio and comfort needs of the PreK-2nd grade age group.

    Press Release
    –

    Mar 11, 2022


    MIDDLETOWN, R.I., March 11, 2022 (Newswire.com)
    –
    AVID Products, a leader in mindful audio solutions designed for the learning journey and named one of the Top 10 EdTech companies to watch, has officially announced the release of the 20 Series universal headphone/headset. Designed specifically for the early learner (PreK-2nd grade age group), this new offering provides flexibility and essential features for success in any learning environment. Effective, reliable and accessible 1:1 headsets are critical for improved interaction and focus with various content, virtual engagements, assessments, language software and more. AVID is connecting millions of learners and educators across the country with safer audio solutions that meet state testing and assessment requirements, while offering prolonged comfort and clear communication. 

    The 20 Series includes the AE-25 headset/headphone that recently captured much attention from educators at FETC and TCEA Education shows. Designed for younger learners, the AE25 combines an age-appropriate size with a lightweight design and around-the-ear soft padded ear cups that reduce surrounding noise for improved focus. Offering a safer listening environment with speakers designed to not only provide an enhanced experience but also to keep sound levels below 85 dB when used with most common devices. The multi-use design allows the listener to easily use it as a headphone or headset and includes AVID’s exclusive microphone management system, the SideKickTM, making it simple to secure the rotating boom arm to reduce mic tampering and distraction. Packed with features such as extra durability with strain relief that protects against wire damage, a four-foot nylon cord encased with clear PVC coating makes it easy to keep clean, soft padded headband provides added comfort to minimize the desire to remove the device during extended use, noise-canceling microphone removes background noise for clear communication across most content and software platforms and is essential for engaging interaction, assessments and testing. The AE25 has a 3.5mm pin, making it compatible with a wide range of devices. In compliance with safety certifications and even comes with a convenient travel pouch for storage and on-the-go use, AVID’s 20 Series is the perfect audio solution for all school districts, teachers and parents looking to equip early learners with the essential audio tools needed for success on their learning journey.  

    Contact toll-free for more details 888.575.AVID or visit avidproducts.com

    Established in 1953, AVID Products is a 100% employee-owned company in the heart of beautiful Middletown, Rhode Island. AVID is the only adaptive learning company that creates and advocates for mindful, innovative and accessible solutions for learners of all kinds who seek to develop themselves and enable a better future for others. Providing quality and value through audio solutions that enhance life’s experiences.

    AVID Sales Contact – Learning:  Doug Welles, Director of Sales & Business Development, dwelles@avidproducts.com

    AVID Media Contact: Emil Belisle, Director of MarCom, ebelisle@avidproducts.com

    Source: AVID Products

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