“OMG College Fees!”

College costs are soaring higher than ever. The cost of tuition continues to go up. According to recently released reports from the College Board, most students and their families can expect to pay from $95 to $1,404 more than last years fees, depending on the type of college.

The best thing about the high tuition rates is that the amount of financial aid is much greater. This impacts me a lot as a student because the tuition rates at many schools are not affordable for me or many of my peers.

Did you know that, according to a 2007 College Board Study, Education Pays, people with a bachelor's degree earn over 60 percent more than those with only a high school diploma? Over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a B.A. is more than $800,000.

So as you can see the sacrifices you make towards getting your college education are more than repaid for in the long run.

If you would like to learn further information, visit the links below.

http://www.collegeboard.com/student/pay/add-it-up/4494.html

http://www.savingforcollege.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_tuition

http://swz.salary.com/collegetuitionplanner/layoutscripts/cltl_start.asp

"Closing our schools"

By next summer 24 schools in the District of Columbia will be closing. Just in the past year, records show that 55,000 to 49,600 students have dropped out. Instead of operating incomplete school programs, the Mayor and Chancellor proposed to shutting 24 schools, and using the money saved to strengthen existing programs such as art and music.

Attending a District of Columbia Public School I agree that we do need more music and art classes in school because it’s a way of expressing ourselves. And there may be less graffiti on the walls. Due to the budget cut, my school had to take out the “not so important” class which was art. When the school cancelled the art program I lost a piece of myself. If I were in Mayor Fentys shoes I would close at least five schools that are not up to par.


Below is a list of schools that would close before the start of the 2008-2009 academic years.

Elementary Schools:

Bowen
Bunker Hill
Bruce-Monroe
Burroughs
ClarkJ.F.
Cook
Gage-Eckington
Gibbs
Green
Meyer
PR Harris (Elementary)
Rudolph
Slowe
Smothers
Stevens
Wilkinson
Young

Middle & Junior High:

Backus
Ronald Brown
Hine
M.M. Washington
PR Harris (Middle)
Shaw

Special Education/Alternative:

M.M. Washington Special Education Center
Douglass Transition Academy
CHOICE Academies


If you were in Mayor Fentys shoes, how would you handle the situation?

If you would like to learn more about this topic?
Visit the links below

http://www.wusa9.com/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

http://myfoxdc.com.com/

Ground Rules for UA Blog

Purpose: The purpose of this blog is to share other interns’ opinions about how they feel about the Urban Alliance Program, School, and Life as a senior, and other general questions, comments, or concerns that they might have.

Ground Rules: There would be different ground rules that the interns must follow in order to take part in the everyday blog activities.

- No use of profanity in the comment blogs
- No putting others down; everyone is entitled to their own opinion
- No starting drama with anyone in UA.
- Express your feelings or concerns in a professional manner
- Commit to writing in the blog at least once a week
- Address any new ideas that UA can do to make the program fun but also meaningful