.
That’s not good for young people, many of whom are now trying to navigate their futures with high debt and no degree. Moreover, if we continue down this same road—spending precious grant dollars in our four-year colleges on students who don’t need financial aid and simply dumping low-income students and students of color into community colleges, even slightly better funded ones—it won’t be good for our country, either.
Kati Haycock is the president of the Education Trust, a national organization she founded in 1990 to promotes high academic achievement for all students at all levels—pre-kindergarten through college. According to the group's website, the organization's mission "is to close the gaps in opportunity and achievement that consign far too many young people—especially those from low-income families or who are black, Latino, or American Indian—to lives on the margins of the American mainstream." Before founding the Education Trust, Haycock was executive vice president of the Children's Defense Fund, the country's largest child advocacy organization. Her views are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New America Foundation.
Suggested Reading
Memo to Colleges: Don't Leverage Pell Grant Funding Away
Abandoning the Mission at Public Universities
Guest Post: A Question of Priorities at Public Colleges
Reality Check: The Privatization of Public Higher Education
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