An estimated 14,000 black students were not able return to campus this fall. Their absence was the direct result of a reinterpretation of a loan program designed to help poor and minority students cover the cost a college education.

The story behind this crisis is a disturbing mix of unfulfilled campaign promises and a seemingly callous disregard for the academic mission of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Early in the first Obama administration a gap funding loan program was created to cover the difference between PELL grants and other government backed college funding. The program is known PLUS, an acronym for Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students.

PLUS loans were designed for parents whose credit history would disqualify the family from securing a traditional bank loan to cover college expenses. When the program was launched parents with good credit history with the last 90 days (no bankruptcy, garnishments, liens etc.) would qualify for a loan.       

However, in October 2011 the Department of Education added new underwriting standards, which made it significantly harder to get approval for a PLUS loan. Instead of 90 days parents were required to prove their credit worthiness for five years. “Based on last year’s trends, nearly half of would-be PLUS borrowers this academic year might be turned away” says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid.org.

An estimated 90% of black students rely on loans to help pay for college. “The denials have hit particularly hard at historically black colleges and universities,” said Johnny Taylor, director of the Thurgood Marshall Foundation. The concern that HBCU students might not return to college because they can’t get loans has proven true for thousands sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Parents have come to rely more on PLUS loans to pay the tuition bills, “as college prices continued to rise and home equity lines of credit have dried up” says Inside Higher Ed writer Libby A. Nelson. “Historically, the approval process for the loans has been relatively lax” Nelson writes.

“The change was made quietly -- the department didn’t convene a rule-making panel or issue a letter to colleges explaining it -- but the impact was dramatic,” Kantrowitz said. “Denials for PLUS loans jumped after the new requirement took effect, midway through the 2011-12 academic year. According to preliminary Education Department data, 38 percent of applicants for the loans were denied -- 10 percent more than in the previous year.” 

“Do something great! I love you!” As he prepares for school each morning Brendan Canty’s mom speaks these heartfelt words of support and encouragement to her son Brendan, a Coppin College Preparatory Academy student who wants to be an animated and live action documentary filmmaker.

His mom’s words brought him a bit of magic. Brendan’s dream to work on a movie set made a quantum leap when he was selected to participate in the 2013 Disney Dreamers Academy with Steve Harvey and Essence Magazine. He overcame tremendous odds beating  out than more 5,000 students nationwide who applied to the program.

Brendan, one the 100 students awarded an all-expense-paid trip to the Walt Disney World Resort will participate in hands-on, full-immersion workshops covering a range of career paths from animation to zoology. His mom will accompany him to Florida, all her expenses paid as well.

This is indeed a great accomplishment. However, Brendan is no stranger to beating the odds. Diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, neither he nor his family have let a learning disability limit his dreams.  An excellent student at Coppin Academy, a charter school affiliated with Coppin State University, Brendan says he gets his inspiration from his mother. 

During his four days at the Disney Dreamers Academy Brendan will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet with and receive mentorship from a Hollywood movie producer. And there are plans for him to create a short film to launch his portfolio of work.

Entering its sixth year, Disney Dreamers Academy takes place in a magical setting: The Walt Disney World theme parks. Both on stage and behind the scenes, the parks become vibrant ‘classrooms’ leading to career discoveries, the pursuit of dreams and fun memories to cherish for a lifetime.

Motivational speakers and celebrities share their stories and provide insight on how to achieve success and pursue their dreams. Dreamers have the opportunity to cultivate relationships with other students from across the nation while they gain first-hand knowledge from Disney experts and world-renowned entrepreneurs and executives.

“Over the past five years, we have helped 500 Dreamers unlock their potential and get started on their journeys in life,” said Disney Dreamers Academy Executive Champion Tracey D. Powell. “The sixth Disney Dreamers Academy marks another year of continued motivation, education and success. Everyone leaves this program inspired to live their best life.”

Steve Harvey, syndicated radio and television personality, and Essence Magazine will host the students. “Disney Dreamers Academy gives hope and inspiration and exposes youth to a world of possibilities,” said Harvey. “We are excited about another opportunity to transform lives and give students an inside look at what their future can hold.”

Essence Communications President Michelle Ebanks added, “We are excited about the sixth Disney Dreamers Academy. This program transcends the normal classroom setting, taking learning to the next level. This year we plan to go above and beyond to encourage  Dreamers.

Applicants answered a series of essay questions about their personal stories and life dreams. Students were selected by a panel of judges that included Powell, Harvey, Ebanks, Mikki Taylor (Editor-at-Large, ESSENCE Magazine), Yolanda Adams (gospel music legend), Terrence J (actor and host of E! News), Stephen A. Smith (broadcaster and sports analyst), and Dr. Steve Perry (education advocate and CNN commentator).

Education Matters gives The Disney Dreamers Academy two thumbs up for its selection of students that includes children diagnosed with a learning disability. Their capacity to see beyond labels and perceived limitations not only makes dreams come true, it helps make a better world for all. Kudos to Brendan Canty and his family! 

Jayne Matthews Hopson, an education writer and the mother of a college-aged son believes education matters because “only the educated are free.” 

Keeping up with the latest trends in educational ideology can be a challenge for parents who seeking a curriculum that best prepares their child for post high school work and study.

Over the last ten years there’s been a push to get classrooms “wired” by providing all grade school students with their own computer and access to the Internet. These efforts have gained wide acceptance as the most effective way to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

Advocates of STEM education believe a course of study that emphasizes science and math over the arts will help students meet the demands of job market. It is widely accepted that 21st century careers will required a highly trained workforce, significantly diminishing the need for unskilled, manual labor.

However, a decade of this formalized,widespread push for more computers and STEM-based courses has decreased or eliminated art from grade school classrooms. The question, a growing number of thought leaders and progressive minded-educators are questioning the wisdom of marginalizing the education of creative thinkers.

A surprising group of parents at the forefront of rejecting the idea that high tech teaching tools offer primary students an academic advantage. “I fundamentally reject the notion you need technology aids in grammar school,” said Alan Eagle, who holds a computer science degree from Dartmouth.

Eagle works in executive communications at Google, the Internet search Engine giant. Part of his job is to write speeches for Google’s chairman. In his professional life he uses all the latest technology, including an iPad and a smartphone. But, says his daughter, a fifth grader, “doesn’t know how to use Google.” He believes “computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction and attention spans.”

Eagle’s daughter Andie attends a Waldorf School in Southern California. There are 160 Waldorf throughout the country, including the Waldorf School of Baltimore, located in the city’s mount Washington neighborhood. The Waldorf School adheres to a teaching philosophy that promotes learning through creative, hands-on tasks.

Three-quarters of the students at his daughter’s school “have parents with a strong high-tech connection. Eagle doesn’t see a contradiction. “Technology”, he told the New York Times “has its time and place: If I worked at Miramax and made good, artsy, rated R movies, I wouldn’t want my kids to see them until they were 17.”

A typical day includes multiplication lessons taught through casting yarn on a knitting needle and acquiring the long range planning strategies to make a pair of socks or sharpening problem solving skills by studying the interconnections of human anatomy.

Second graders, “standing in a circle learned language skills by repeating verses after the teacher, while simultaneously playing catch with bean bags. It’s an exercise aimed at synchronizing body and brain. Here, as in other classes, the day can start with a recitation or verse about God that reflects a nondenominational emphasis on the divine,” says New York Times technology reporter, Matt Richel.

Paul Thomas, a former teacher and an associate professor of education at Furman University has written 12 books on public educational methods. He says “a spare approach to technology in the classroom will always benefit learning. Teaching is a human experience. Technology is a distraction when we need literacy, numeracy and critical thinking.”

Americans for the Arts cautions against the idea that teaching the arts is a “frill,” something extra students get if time, energy and resources permits. Unfortunately, when budgets are tight, arts programs, teachers, and supplies are often cut first. The organization stresses the importance of learning through the arts, which:

• Stimulates and develops the imagination and critical thinking, and refines cognitive and creative skills.
• Has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth of every child and has proven to help level the "learning field" across socio-economic boundaries.
• Strengthens problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, adding to overall academic achievement and school success.
• Develops a sense of craftsmanship, quality task performance, and goal-setting— skills needed to succeed in the classroom and beyond.
• Teaches children life skills such as developing an informed perception; articulating a vision; learning to solve problems and make decisions; building self-confidence and self-discipline; developing the ability to imagine what might be; and accepting responsibility to complete tasks from start to finish.
• Nurtures important values, including team-building skills; respecting alternative viewpoints; and appreciating and being aware of different cultures and traditions.
• Plays a central role in cognitive, motor, language, and social-emotional development.
• Motivates and engages children in learning, stimulates memory, facilitates understanding, enhances symbolic communication, promotes relationships, and provides an avenue for building competence.
• Provides a natural source of learning. Child development specialists note that play is the business of young children; play is the way children promote and enhance their development. The arts are a most natural vehicle for play.

Jayne Matthews Hopson, an education writer and the mother of a college aged son believes education matters because “only the educated are free”.

The environmentalist movement has come full circle. Earth Day, which began as a college-based protest activity is now seeking to create green environments for grade school students.

April 15, 2013, marks the 43rd anniversary of Earth Day. Senator Gaylord Nelson, an environmental and conservation activist from the state of Wisconsin played a leading role in organizing the first Earth Day held on April 22, 1970. Over 20 million American participated. This year 1 billion people from over 175 countries are expected to be a part of the world’s largest civic observation.

Following a series of environmental disasters Sen. Nelson conceived of the event as way to muster popular demand for policies to protect the earth’s natural resources. “I am convinced we need to bring an overwhelming insistence of the new generation that we stem the tide of environmental disaster is to present them the facts clearly and dramatically.”

“To marshal such an effort,” said Nelson, “I am proposing a national teach-in on the crisis of the environment to be held next spring on every university campus across the Nation. The crisis is so imminent, in my opinion every university should set aside one day in the school year-the same day across the Nation-for the teach-in.”

Sen. Nelson’s idea worked. Earth Day is widely credited with launching a modern environmental revolution known as the Green Movement, which sparked the passage of the landmark, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws.

Now the movement is focusing increased attention on creating green environments for our schools. The Earth Day Network (EDN) was formed to promote green economic policies at home and abroad “to inform and energize populations so they will act to secure a healthy future for themselves and their children.

The organization believes Green schools are, “the most effective agents for enacting  positive environmental and educational change in schools and communities. School greening is quickly becoming more than a trend; rather, it is now the method of choice for providing healthy, comfortable and productive learning environments while saving

energy, resources and money.”

With research gathered from state and federal agencies the EDN reports the following health and academic benefits of Green schools:

•Test scores and learning ability improves on average three to five percent— equating to an annual earning increase of $532 per student

•Students with the most daylight progress 20 percent faster on math and 26 percent on reading tests

•Asthma incidence decreases by 25 percent

•Teacher Retention increases by an average of three percent

•Teachers experience a seven percent decrease in sick days

•Seventy-five percent of senior executives believe green schools improve a school’s ability to attract and retain teachers

“A green school improves the health and energy-efficiency of the school facility, ensures science-based environmental and civic education in the classroom, implements healthy food choices into the cafeteria, promotes alternative means of transportation, and expands recreational choices and opportunities for all students.

The benefits of green schools are now well established and range from significant reductions in greenhouse gases to impressive energy cost savings, improved student test scores and higher teacher and student retention, as well as very impressive improvements in children’s health.

Studies have demonstrated that green schools greatly reduce student sick days, significantly improve the health of students with diabetes, asthma and other respiratory illnesses, reduce social inequity, enhance student motivation in both the short and long term, and provide an educationally rich setting.

Despite what many people think, green schools cost on average, less than two percent  more to build than a traditional school, yet the payback often occurs within only a few years due to the energy savings alone. A green school typically utilizes 33 percent less energy and 32 percent less water— enough savings to hire two additional full-time teachers.

Ultimately greening America’s schools presents an extraordinary cost-effective opportunity to improve the health and educational settings for all students, increasing school equality and academic parity while reducing long-term health and operational costs.”

Jayne Matthews Hopson, an education writer and the mother of a college-aged son who believes education matters because “only the educated are free.” To contact Jayne Matthews, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to Jayne’s attention.