ED.gov Blog

Keeping the Promise: Enhanced Entrance and Exit Counseling on StudentAid.gov

Federal Student Aid has renewed our commitment to delivering innovative tools and resources to empower you throughout your financial aid journey. This month, we’ve made updates to some of those pretty well-known resources on StudentAid.gov: entrance and exit counseling.

Entrance counseling—required before you receive your first Direct Subsidized or Direct Unsubsidized Loan as an undergraduate and before you receive your first Direct PLUS Loan as a graduate or professional student—ensures that you understand the responsibilities and rights that come with taking out a federal student loan. Exit counseling—required when you leave school or drop below half-time enrollment—provides important information needed to prepare for repaying federal student loans.

Entrance and exit counseling are critical parts of the financial aid journey, and we’re excited to make this experience better for you.

Finding Teachable Moments on the Field and in the Classroom

This Sunday afternoon, the world will watch the 55^th Super Bowl take place in Tampa Bay. While these football professionals play the last game of their season, high school coaches around the country are preparing for their next. Many of these coaches are tasked with balancing responsibilities as leaders on the field and as educators in the classroom. Among them is Chris Davidson of Ridge Community High School, about an hour outside of Tampa Bay .

U.S. Department of Education Releases Digital Learning Guides for Teachers and School Leaders

The U.S. Department of Education is excited to announce the release of two new resources that help teachers and school leaders meet the needs of their students by using thoughtful and creative digital learning experiences. The Teacher Digital Learning Guide (Teacher Guide) and the School Leader Digital Learning Guide (Leader Guide) are designed to provide educators and leaders resources as they use digital tools to better help students learn.

MLK Day: 5 Ways to Help Your Kids Explore its Significance

Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929, and each year we recognize his birthday and life’s work with a federal holiday. King is well known for his efforts as a civil rights movement leader and for bringing about racial equality in the nation by using nonviolent means. The same year that King won the Nobel Peace Prize in the field of human rights, the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed.

The following activities may be good ways to help families explore the significance of King’s work.