Latest news with #DaveAdams
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Advocates press for continued funding to college test prep support program
Supporters of a state program providing free test preparation to students at public universities and some community colleges said Wednesday the effort has saved students over $8 million in just two months, but needs $10 million in state funding to remain in operation. Illinois launched the program in late February, becoming the first state to offer free comprehensive test preparation for college students and already serving more than 200,000 students statewide. The program, a collaboration between the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the educational service company Kaplan, allows students free access to more than 40 prep courses including graduate-level admissions exams such as the LSAT for law school, as well as courses in data analytics, cybersecurity and real estate. Lawmakers would have to provide the additional funding by June 30 to keep the program available for a full school year. At a news conference Wednesday to call attention to the program, Dave Adams, a senior vice president with Kaplan, said 'the true sign-up period for all these courses and test preps' is not slated to begin until the fall. 'There are always barriers when you spend taxpayer dollars,' said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat who led efforts to secure $10 million in the 2024 budget to fund the program. 'It has to be debated, and it has to be proven to be worthy so that's what we're doing and we're going to continue to get evidence that this is worthy, so that when we go into our budget debates we could continue to push for it with evidence.' Since late February, more than 2,200 students across the University of Illinois system have enrolled in Kaplan courses for free through the program, saving them almost $6 million, according to Janet Gooch, chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield. About 500 students have enrolled in courses, primarily under the physician assistant and lawyer topics, in the Southern Illinois University system. Nick Marquez, a graduate student at UIS, said the program allowed him to pursue his goal of attending law school. 'Without it, I simply wouldn't have the tools and resources to compete at the same level as others who could afford professional test prep courses,' Marquez said. 'Having structured weekly classes, personalized practice tools and life tutor support has been a game changer for me.' Adams said over 60% of the students utilizing this state program are minority students and over a third are low-income or first-generation students. Erin Steva, vice president of external affairs at Chicago State University, said her school's faculty often helped students pay for test preparation resources before the state program went into place. About 89% of Chicago State students are low-income, over 60% struggle with their basic needs and about 22% of students are parents, Steva said. 'Access to standardized tests and test prep services is a huge barrier,' Steva said. 'We have to be intentional about getting our students into college, through college and into those careers, and this is an absolutely essential investment in that pipeline.' In addition to helping students, the program also brings a return on investments for the state, according to state Sen. Michael Halpin, a Democrat from Rock Island. Halpin said the program encourages students to attend college in the state, supports higher rates of employment in the state workforce and motivates students to give back to their universities once employed. The Illinois Academy of Physicians Assistants also 'strongly supports' continued funding for the program, said Jayson Coble, a physician assistant at St. John's Hospital in Springfield. 'It helps solve two separate but growing crises in Illinois — inequitable access to health care and the growing shortage of qualified health care professionals, doctors, nurses, PAs, pharmacists and the like,' Coble said. While Ford is only asking for state funding to support the universities and community colleges now participating in the program, he said other community colleges and even some private institutions have asked to be included. Expanding the program would depend on funding approval by the legislature. 'But let us be clear here today that it is just the beginning,' Ford said. 'Funding for this program must be reauthorized. If we believe in equity, if we believe in workforce readiness, in building a better Illinois, we need to make sure that this program continues, continues to impact the future of our state and the lives of our students and our public universities.'
Chicago Tribune
01-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Advocates press for continued funding to college test prep support program
Supporters of a state program providing free test preparation to students at public universities and some community colleges said Wednesday the effort has saved students over $8 million in just two months, but needs $10 million in state funding to remain in operation. Illinois launched the program in late February, becoming the first state to offer free comprehensive test preparation for college students and already serving more than 200,000 students statewide. The program, a collaboration between the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the educational service company Kaplan, allows students free access to more than 40 prep courses including graduate-level admissions exams such as the LSAT for law school, as well as courses in data analytics, cybersecurity and real estate. Lawmakers would have to provide the additional funding by June 30 to keep the program available for a full school year. At a news conference Wednesday to call attention to the program, Dave Adams, a senior vice president with Kaplan, said 'the true sign-up period for all these courses and test preps' is not slated to begin until the fall. 'There are always barriers when you spend taxpayer dollars,' said state Rep. La Shawn Ford, a Chicago Democrat who led efforts to secure $10 million in the 2024 budget to fund the program. 'It has to be debated, and it has to be proven to be worthy so that's what we're doing and we're going to continue to get evidence that this is worthy, so that when we go into our budget debates we could continue to push for it with evidence.' Since late February, more than 2,200 students across the University of Illinois system have enrolled in Kaplan courses for free through the program, saving them almost $6 million, according to Janet Gooch, chancellor of the University of Illinois Springfield. About 500 students have enrolled in courses, primarily under the physician assistant and lawyer topics, in the Southern Illinois University system. Nick Marquez, a graduate student at UIS, said the program allowed him to pursue his goal of attending law school. 'Without it, I simply wouldn't have the tools and resources to compete at the same level as others who could afford professional test prep courses,' Marquez said. 'Having structured weekly classes, personalized practice tools and life tutor support has been a game changer for me.' Adams said over 60% of the students utilizing this state program are minority students and over a third are low-income or first-generation students. Erin Steva, vice president of external affairs at Chicago State University, said her school's faculty often helped students pay for test preparation resources before the state program went into place. About 89% of Chicago State students are low-income, over 60% struggle with their basic needs and about 22% of students are parents, Steva said. 'Access to standardized tests and test prep services is a huge barrier,' Steva said. 'We have to be intentional about getting our students into college, through college and into those careers, and this is an absolutely essential investment in that pipeline.' In addition to helping students, the program also brings a return on investments for the state, according to state Sen. Michael Halpin, a Democrat from Rock Island. Halpin said the program encourages students to attend college in the state, supports higher rates of employment in the state workforce and motivates students to give back to their universities once employed. The Illinois Academy of Physicians Assistants also 'strongly supports' continued funding for the program, said Jayson Coble, a physician assistant at St. John's Hospital in Springfield. 'It helps solve two separate but growing crises in Illinois — inequitable access to health care and the growing shortage of qualified health care professionals, doctors, nurses, PAs, pharmacists and the like,' Coble said. While Ford is only asking for state funding to support the universities and community colleges now participating in the program, he said other community colleges and even some private institutions have asked to be included. Expanding the program would depend on funding approval by the legislature. 'But let us be clear here today that it is just the beginning,' Ford said. 'Funding for this program must be reauthorized. If we believe in equity, if we believe in workforce readiness, in building a better Illinois, we need to make sure that this program continues, continues to impact the future of our state and the lives of our students and our public universities.'
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
‘An underground tsunami': Forest Lake battles destructive ice ridges at Lakeside Park
Alternating cold and mild temperatures combined with a lack of snow this winter have caused significant ice ridges along the shore of Lakeside Park in Forest Lake. The severe ice ridges, which are caused when lake ice pushes material from lakebeds up onto shorelines, have caused light poles to tip, boulders to move and the city's paved walking path to shift several feet to the west. City officials say it will cost $175,000 to repair the damage. The heaving along the shoreline 'shifted and pushed up' approximately 350 feet of the paved walking path that runs along the shoreline, and, in some areas, heaved on the west side of the path, said Dave Adams, the city's director of public works. 'This is the first time we've seen it happen on both sides of the path,' Adams said. 'The ground has probably moved 2 to 3 feet. That's what has pushed those poles over. If you can imagine how far that's pushed that pole over, that's how far the path has shifted.' On Monday, the Forest Lake City Council voted to approve a plan to repair the park and replace the paved walking path with a bituminous path. The engraved pavers will be stored in a safe location until they are re-installed elsewhere in the park, Adams said. Long-term plans for Lakeside Park include a downtown shoreline restoration project and a new Veterans' Memorial. Those plans call for the current walking path to be removed, so 'not spending too much money to replace the path, knowing that there's another project in the works to rehab that park, makes the most sense,' Adams said. The repairs must be done this spring so that the popular downtown park will be open and functioning for residents and boaters this summer, Adams said. City officials have filed an insurance claim with the League of Minnesota Cities to cover the damage done to the city-owned light poles and the infrastructure of Your Boat Club's dock, which totaled $23,100, Adams said. 'The force of nature is incredible,' said Forest Lake City Councilmember Jeff Larson, who lives on the lake north of Lakeside Park. 'My neighbor has lived here for 22 years, and he's never seen anything like this.' Larson, whose own shoreline was damaged, said the ice ridges formed almost overnight. 'I was gone for a couple of hours, and I came home in the afternoon, and it was already starting to, like, roll,' he said. 'It kind of rolls the soil and the sod up. At first, it wasn't too bad. It was only maybe about six, eight inches at the time. But then over time, it just continued with the pressure and stuff, so I actually have two rolls of that heaving. There's two separate sections of it.' Ice ridges, also called ice heaves or ice jacks, occur in years where there is little snow cover on lake ice to insulate the ice, said Dan Scollan, east metro area hydrologist for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Cracks form in ice with water rising to fill in the gaps, expanding the ice sheet as it freezes, he said. During subsequent warm spells, the ice was able to expand, Scollan said. The additional expansion exerts 'a tremendous thrust against the shore,' according to the DNR. 'The expanding ice sheet moves soil to create ice ridges as high as 5 feet or more. Alternate warming and cooling of an ice sheet causes additional pushing action that possesses enough power to nudge masonry bridge piers out of plumb and push houses off their foundations.' Local News | St. Paul police arrest 3 after group assaults student outside High School for Recording Arts Local News | St. Paul: Alliance Bank Center's commercial tenants given less than 48 hours to vacate Local News | New West Seventh Street transit plan ready for public input Local News | Forest Lake: MnDOT to host public meeting on $17M construction project Local News | St. Croix Valley Big Read is 'Nothing to See Here' 'Someone described it to me as 'an underground tsunami,' which I thought was a really good description,' Scollan said. A resident who has lived on White Bear Lake for decades said this winter's ice heaves 'were by far the worst she's ever seen,' Scollan said. City officials in White Bear Lake said there was no damage done by ice ridges to city-owned property. Residents of Forest Lake who have had damage done to their shoreline should contact officials with the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District, the Washington Conservation District and the city before doing any work, Scollan said. Anyone who owns more than 200 feet of shoreline would also need to contact the DNR for a permit, Scollan said. What can be done to prevent ice ridges in the future? 'The more natural vegetation you have both in the lake and on your shore can help buffer your shoreline from ice action,' Scollan said. Forest Lake's long-term plan for Lakeside Park includes additional natural shoreline work, including the planting of more trees and shrubs, said Aidan Read, land management specialist for the Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed. 'Those are the kinds of things that we like to see to try to prevent this type of damage,' he said. 'What we see most effective long-term are really well-constructed, healthy, natural shoreline buffers with perennial, deep rooted vegetation, especially woody vegetation and a shallow grade.' Roots aren't necessarily going to hold all the soil in place, but they can help to limit some of the damage, Read said. 'It's hard to say that any of that would have prevented something like this, but it's possible,' he said as he surveyed the damage earlier this week. 'You can look at this cross-section (of soil) here, and there's nothing.' The light posts, which had probably 2- or 3-foot footings underneath, moved, but a nearby tree, with 'probably 20 feet of roots, didn't move an inch over there,' Read said. Adam Hjelm, the watershed district's education outreach coordinator, said enough people contacted the watershed about ice-ridge damage that watershed district officials decided to hold an informational workshop later this month. It's the first time the watershed has held such a workshop, he said. Watershed district officials can offer technical assistance in the form of actual design work, and the district has some limited financial assistance that it can offer shoreline landowners, as well for installing natural shorelines, Hjelm said. Zerita LaFave, 80, and her son, Dwight Emerson, both of Ham Lake, surveyed the damage at Lakeside Park earlier this week and marveled that ice could wreak so much havoc. 'That's Mother Nature for you,' LaFave said. LaFave and Emerson come to the park a couple of times a month to eat lunch and walk, she said. Local News | Washington County township elections: Incumbents hold seats in May, West Lakeland Local News | Washington County approves $4.5 million settlement in 2018 fatal shooting Local News | Forest Lake: MnDOT to host public meeting on $17M construction project Local News | St. Croix Valley Big Read is 'Nothing to See Here' Local News | Backyard meteorologist? Minnesota is looking for volunteers to help monitor rainfall. 'We'd like to see them save the pavers because there've been a lot of Forest Lake people who donated the bricks,' she said. 'You can walk around and look at everybody's name that lived here before. I hope they get it fixed soon.' The Comfort Lake-Forest Lake Watershed District will hold a free Shoreline Ice Ridge Informational Workshop from 6-8 p.m. March 26 at the Forest Lake American Legion in downtown Forest Lake. Speakers include DNR staff, watershed staff and local lakeshore landscapers. Anyone interested in attending is asked to register by March 21. For more information, go to
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Illinois launches free test prep program for public university and select community college students
Illinois is making history as the first state to offer free, comprehensive test preparation to over 200,000 students at public universities and select community colleges throughout the state, announcing the official launch of the Prepare for Illinois' Future Program on Tuesday. The program launched by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is in collaboration with Kaplan, an international educational service company that provides colleges, universities and businesses with educational and training services. The 'revolutionary' program, Kaplan's Senior Vice President Dave Adams said, allows students throughout the state access to more than 40 test prep courses at no cost to them, including courses for graduate-level admissions exams for students taking the law school entrance exam, or LSAT, among other exams, as well as courses in data analytics, cybersecurity, real estate, and more. The program is now available to all students attending any of the twelve public universities in the state, including the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Illinois State University, University of Illinois Chicago and Western Illinois University, as well as five community colleges, including Carl Sandburg College, Joliet Junior College and Malcolm X College. 'Providing free test and licensing preparation courses for students is an important measure to help remove some of the financial barriers students face in advancing their education and careers,' ISAC Executive Director Eric Zarnikow said in a news release. The program was spearheaded by Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, who first learned about Kaplan's All Access Initiative at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where his daughter was enrolled. Shocked by the program, Ford said he called Kaplan to express how impressed he was by the initiative. After he learned Howard had facilitated a partnership with Kaplan and paid for the company's services so students could access them at no cost, Ford was told Kaplan would do the same for Illinois if a contract could be worked out. From that moment, Ford, who is the Chairperson of the Illinois General Assembly's Appropriations-Higher Education Committee, said he made it his mission to provide students in Illinois with the same opportunity. 'Knowing the benefits of test prep and that difference in doing well on a test is about being better prepared, I fought to get the money in the budget,' Ford said. He was successful, securing $10 million in the FY 2024 budget to fund the program. The program will allow over 200,000 students in Illinois aiming to become licensed professionals in various fields free access to unlimited test prep for years to come. One of the program's many benefits is filling the gap students face as they transition from university to the workforce, according to Dave Adams, Kaplan's senior vice president. The costs of test preparation for licensure exams aren't typically considered in the overall cost of higher education, which may have a price tag upwards of thousands of dollars. Needing to take and pass these exams is yet another hurdle placed in front of students aiming to access the career tracks they 'It is high-stakes testing for professional licensures and careers,' Adams said. 'That's especially daunting for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students, often rural students.' Understanding from years of data that students are unable to pass or do well on licensure admissions tests without access to quality prep programs, Adams said Kaplan also began hearing from long-term university partners that some students were being left behind due to this opportunity gap. Asked how Kaplan could help, Adams said the company decided to open the doors to all of Kaplan's products. With over 40 industry-leading preparation programs available to students state-wide, Ford said this program eliminates existing barriers, allowing students to learn how to test and feel confident testing while they save money in the long run. While some may view the program as solely about test prep, it's more than that, according to Adams. It's workforce development, he said. 'What we've seen in the past few years is that the students that can afford these products are the students who are doing well on the licensure exams,' Adams said. 'They're getting licenses earlier in their careers because they can pay for the prep and pay for the license, they're going to graduate school in larger numbers… because they're doing well on the admissions exams. But now… 200,000 students in the state of Illinois now have the same access that everybody else has.' Western Illinois University was among five universities in the state to roll out the program earlier this month. Justin Schuche, the university's vice president of student success, said the rollout process has been remarkably effective. It's been a little over a week since the program launched and Schuche said the reaction from students has been 'overwhelmingly positive.' With 55 students already registered for services through Kaplan, Schuche said it's clear there's a need for the program and has already allowed participating students to save over $45,000. The program will not only have long-term benefits for students, allowing them to be better prepared for well-paying jobs across several fields, but it will also save thousands of dollars on expenses associated with test prep and will also benefit the state as well, Ford said. Through this, students will be able to take their licensure exams following graduation and join the workforce at a quicker pace, rather than having to wait due to being unable to access resources. This will allow students to help close the state's gap in critical workforce shortages in essential careers such as doctors, nurses and engineers. Confident that students are going to save millions of dollars on out-of-pocket costs, Adams said he's also certain that Illinois will see a return in investment to the program as students will likely choose to stay in the state for college as well as remain in Illinois following graduation to begin their careers as a result of the program. As Illinois is the first state to provide a program such as this, Adams said he believes once the program's value is shown, other states will want to jump on board. 'This is up and running now, the other schools will be up and running in the next couple of weeks,' Adams said. 'Everybody will be online and firing on all cylinders when students come back to school in the fall.'
Chicago Tribune
27-02-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Illinois launches free test prep program for public university and select community college students
Illinois is making history as the first state to offer free, comprehensive test preparation to over 200,000 students at public universities and select community colleges throughout the state, announcing the official launch of the Prepare for Illinois' Future Program on Tuesday. The program launched by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is in collaboration with Kaplan, an international educational service company that provides colleges, universities and businesses with educational and training services. The 'revolutionary' program, Kaplan's Senior Vice President Dave Adams said, allows students throughout the state access to more than 40 test prep courses at no cost to them, including courses for graduate-level admissions exams for students taking the law school entrance exam, or LSAT, among other exams, as well as courses in data analytics, cybersecurity, real estate, and more. The program is now available to all students attending any of the twelve public universities in the state, including the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Illinois State University, University of Illinois Chicago and Western Illinois University, as well as five community colleges, including Carl Sandburg College, Joliet Junior College and Malcolm X College. 'Providing free test and licensing preparation courses for students is an important measure to help remove some of the financial barriers students face in advancing their education and careers,' ISAC Executive Director Eric Zarnikow said in a news release. The program was spearheaded by Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, who first learned about Kaplan's All Access Initiative at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where his daughter was enrolled. Shocked by the program, Ford said he called Kaplan to express how impressed he was by the initiative. After he learned Howard had facilitated a partnership with Kaplan and paid for the company's services so students could access them at no cost, Ford was told Kaplan would do the same for Illinois if a contract could be worked out. From that moment, Ford, who is the Chairperson of the Illinois General Assembly's Appropriations-Higher Education Committee, said he made it his mission to provide students in Illinois with the same opportunity. 'Knowing the benefits of test prep and that difference in doing well on a test is about being better prepared, I fought to get the money in the budget,' Ford said. He was successful, securing $10 million in the FY 2024 budget to fund the program. The program will allow over 200,000 students in Illinois aiming to become licensed professionals in various fields free access to unlimited test prep for years to come. One of the program's many benefits is filling the gap students face as they transition from university to the workforce, according to Dave Adams, Kaplan's senior vice president. The costs of test preparation for licensure exams aren't typically considered in the overall cost of higher education, which may have a price tag upwards of thousands of dollars. Needing to take and pass these exams is yet another hurdle placed in front of students aiming to access the career tracks they 'It is high-stakes testing for professional licensures and careers,' Adams said. 'That's especially daunting for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged students, often rural students.' Understanding from years of data that students are unable to pass or do well on licensure admissions tests without access to quality prep programs, Adams said Kaplan also began hearing from long-term university partners that some students were being left behind due to this opportunity gap. Asked how Kaplan could help, Adams said the company decided to open the doors to all of Kaplan's products. With over 40 industry-leading preparation programs available to students state-wide, Ford said this program eliminates existing barriers, allowing students to learn how to test and feel confident testing while they save money in the long run. While some may view the program as solely about test prep, it's more than that, according to Adams. It's workforce development, he said. 'What we've seen in the past few years is that the students that can afford these products are the students who are doing well on the licensure exams,' Adams said. 'They're getting licenses earlier in their careers because they can pay for the prep and pay for the license, they're going to graduate school in larger numbers… because they're doing well on the admissions exams. But now… 200,000 students in the state of Illinois now have the same access that everybody else has.' Western Illinois University was among five universities in the state to roll out the program earlier this month. Justin Schuche, the university's vice president of student success, said the rollout process has been remarkably effective. It's been a little over a week since the program launched and Schuche said the reaction from students has been 'overwhelmingly positive.' With 55 students already registered for services through Kaplan, Schuche said it's clear there's a need for the program and has already allowed participating students to save over $45,000. The program will not only have long-term benefits for students, allowing them to be better prepared for well-paying jobs across several fields, but it will also save thousands of dollars on expenses associated with test prep and will also benefit the state as well, Ford said. Through this, students will be able to take their licensure exams following graduation and join the workforce at a quicker pace, rather than having to wait due to being unable to access resources. This will allow students to help close the state's gap in critical workforce shortages in essential careers such as doctors, nurses and engineers. Confident that students are going to save millions of dollars on out-of-pocket costs, Adams said he's also certain that Illinois will see a return in investment to the program as students will likely choose to stay in the state for college as well as remain in Illinois following graduation to begin their careers as a result of the program. As Illinois is the first state to provide a program such as this, Adams said he believes once the program's value is shown, other states will want to jump on board. 'This is up and running now, the other schools will be up and running in the next couple of weeks,' Adams said. 'Everybody will be online and firing on all cylinders when students come back to school in the fall.'
