The Hechinger Report

13 hours ago | hechingerreport.org | Jackie Mader

Megan Newsome was 27 weeks pregnant when she was diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer of the blood. After her son was born four weeks early, Newsome underwent intensive chemotherapy treatments while her newborn gained strength in the neonatal intensive care unit. Newsome, who lives in Maine, suddenly found herself navigating a complex and expensive web of her own health challenges, as well as her son’s.

19 hours ago | hechingerreport.org | Chris Berdik

Jaci Grado has wanted to be an educator since she was in kindergarten. Her love of teaching solidified in high school when she worked at an after-school program in her hometown of Schuyler, Nebraska. The biggest employer in Schuyler is the Cargill beef processing plant, which relies on immigrant labor. More than 70 percent of the town’s 6,500 residents are Hispanic, including Grado, whose parents immigrated from Mexico.

2 days ago | hechingerreport.org | Sarah Butrymowicz |Meredith Kolodner

Nearly 4.5 million low-income college students would lose some or all of their federal financial aid if Republicans in the House get their way. That’s according to an analysis from the left-leaning Center for American Progress, shared exclusively with The Hechinger Report. The report looks at the ways a GOP House budget bill would affect Pell Grants, the federal financial aid program that covers college expenses for students from low-income families.

1 week ago | hechingerreport.org | Jill Barshay

Some of the biggest names in education research — who often oppose each other in scholarly and policy debates — are now united in their desire to fight the cuts to data and scientific studies at the U.S. Department of Education. The roster includes both Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst, the first head of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) who initiated studies for private school vouchers, and Sean Reardon, a Stanford University sociologist who studies inequity in education.

1 week ago | hechingerreport.org | Meredith Kolodner

After a five-year pause, the Trump administration is bringing back financial penalties for the many millions of borrowers who are too far behind on their student loan payments. It’s led to confusion and financial uncertainty. At least 5 million people are in default, meaning they have failed to make payments on their loans for at least nine months — and millions more are projected to join them in the coming months.