Widening the Gap: Learning, Earning, and COVID

The COVID pandemic reversed years of improving high school dropout rates by untethering millions of young people from the institutions that were already struggling to support them. In this episode we examine the implications for the long-term earning potential of these students and ultimately, the labor market.  

To understand the impact on young people in our region, we talked to education advocates including Philadelphia City Councilmember Derek Green and Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, immediate past President and CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network. For the national context, we spoke to Chauncy Lennon at the Lumina Foundation, about the long-term skills and labor market implications.  And JEVS Human Services’ E3 Center member Kareema shares her personal story as she refocuses on her education and future.