Staff

Photo of Caroline Preston

Senior Editor

Caroline Preston

Caroline Preston is a senior editor. She previously worked as a features editor with Al Jazeera America's digital team and a senior reporter with The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Her freelance writing has appeared in The American Prospect's online edition, Fusion, Jezebel, The New York Times, The New Yorker Online, and other publications. She holds a B.A. in history from Brown University and an M.S. from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. As an elementary and middle-school student, her favorite subject was art, and maybe one day she'll again pick up a paintbrush.

Recent Stories

Sarat Atobajeun started as an apprentice with Zurich Insurance last August. She said she appreciates the stability of the job and the diversity of the tasks she’s learning.

Where are all the women apprentices?

Female and African-American workers earn far less than other participants in these increasingly popular workforce training programs

Higher Education

by  Caroline Preston  – July 11, 2018

Merger madness? When schools close — forever

Vermont’s push to consolidate school districts continues to provoke anger and debate

K-12

by  Caroline Preston  – June 11, 2018

Automation will boost demand for science-and-tech skills as well as soft skills such as critical thinking, according to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Study: The U.S. isn’t doing enough to prepare students for the automation age

The country ranks ninth when it comes to upgrading curricula and teacher training for the labor market of the future

Map to the Middle Class

by  Caroline Preston  – April 25, 2018

Sarat Atobajeun started as an apprentice with Zurich Insurance last August. She said she appreciates the stability of the job and the diversity of the tasks she’s learning.

Are apprenticeships the new on-ramp to good jobs?

The earn-and-learn model could spread, but the Trump administration has done too little to facilitate its growth

Map to the Middle Class

by  Caroline Preston  – April 15, 2018

Laquon Jackson receives help from his Introduction to the Health Care Professions instructor, Elizabeth Dalianis.

An Rx for poverty? A career in nursing

Most of the growing health-care occupations are low-wage, but nursing offers a robot-proof path to the middle class

Map to the Middle Class

by  Caroline Preston  – April 15, 2018

Jerry Hughes, a retired federal mediator, coaches Niles West students who’ve been cast as union representatives.

Can educating kids about unions prepare them for the future of work?

Labor history is often missing from textbooks, but some schools are finding creative ways to teach economic justice

Map to the Middle Class

by  Caroline Preston  – March 8, 2018

Students at STEM School Academy in Douglas County start the computer program to run their historical figure head with artificial intelligence.

Teachers want to prepare students for the jobs of the future — but feel stymied

Many educators say meager budgets prevent them from developing new ways of teaching in-demand soft skills

Map to the Middle Class

by  Caroline Preston  – February 15, 2018

In this file photo, a high school student at a Mississippi school works on a math assignment.

Most Americans say U.S. STEM education is middling, new poll finds

Efforts to get more women and minorities into high-wage STEM jobs have yet to yield big results

Higher Education

by  Caroline Preston  – January 9, 2018

Client Paul Chirico of Los Angeles works with tax preparer Erika Arbulante to see how the Affordable Care Act, ACA, will impact his tax returns at H&R Block on January 8, 2015 in Los Angeles, California.

Apprenticeships could provide a path to the middle class for millions of workers, new study says

The workforce programs could spread to more than 70 well-paid occupations

Higher Education

by  Caroline Preston  – November 29, 2017

When foster kids are moved around, schooling becomes an afterthought

Students lose an estimated four to six months of academic progress with each move

Divided We Learn

by  Caroline Preston  – May 25, 2017