Supporting Agility

in Education

Since 2017, America Succeeds has been urging education systems to embrace the agility needed to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future of work.

Agile education systems are better positioned to serve the unique needs of every student in normal times. In the face of a major disruption, they are positioned to greatly outperform their more traditional peers.

COVID-19 underscored the urgency of creating agile, adaptable, flexible school systems that can put students at the center of their learning and offer multiple pathways into the future of work.

Employer Perspectives on Agility in Education

“There used to be a more or less steady state. Now it is just constant change. The ability to adapt and change is the key to the future.”

Alexis Sgouros

Vice President and Business Information Officer, Kaiser Permanente

“High schools and colleges in the U.S. are not turning out graduates with the mix of technical expertise, soft skills, problem-solving ability and communication skills that companies like Toyota need.”

Dennis Parker

Assistant Manager North American Production Support Center, Toyota

“We are committed to investing in the development of our team members because a skilled and trained workforce is critical to the success of Tyson Foods. In the same way we add value to our product, we strive to add value to our team members and offer training to help them succeed in the workplace.”

Mike Rogers

Senior Director of Maintenance & Refrigeration, Tyson Foods

Challenges

2X Learning Loss

Fall 2020 estimates suggest while the average COVID-19 learning loss will be 7 months, it could be as great as 10 months for Black students, and more than a year for low-income students (2X their affluent peers).

Over 50% of Teachers

Beyond the heavy emotional and economic impacts, in a late 2020 survey, over half of responding teachers were worried that their students would fall behind academically.

12M Without Internet

More than a year after pandemic closures began, an estimated. 12 million students still lack reliable internet access, an essential component of remote learning through ongoing and additional disruptions.

Initiative Approach & Impact

In every state and local community, business leaders, educators, and policymakers must work together to confront and conquer the current skills gap and reconfigure the education-to-workforce pipeline. Because we can’t predict the exact skills needed to succeed in tomorrow’s jobs or what future disruptions we may face, our charge is to equip students with the tools of agility and inspire a mindset of lifelong learning.

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