First Day of School

The San Francisco School District kicks off classes today, and so will other schools and universities across the bay later this week. Students, parents, and teachers alike are heading into this school year with tight budgets.

This Facebook group was recently launched to connect Oakland teachers with people who could contribute to their classes needs, such as pencils and magazine subscriptions. (As of now, there is still an unmet request for glue sticks and spiral notebooks!)

Tomorrow we will air an interview conducted by one of our street team members with a student at UC Berkeley, who is considering dropping out of school due to rising tuition costs. This Oakland Tribune article discusses ways that families can better prepare for rising college tuition. One piece of advice? Start early. Applying for government-based grants can start during the early high school years. But the cheapest option is still the California community college system:

Even with this year's $6-per-unit fee increase, community colleges can make the first two years of college significantly more affordable, and they can also improve an academically weak student's chances of graduating from a high-quality university.