We’ve been talking a lot about agility and the future of work over the past few years. It makes sense; advances in technology are changing the world at a breathtaking pace. Businesses are consumed with finding efficiencies, adapting to the evolving market, and exploring technology’s impact on their customers and employees.
At America Succeeds, we’ve been engaging business leaders and our network of partners to foster greater student achievement, build an educated workforce pipeline, and protect our future economic vitality in the face of this new era. As 2019 draws to a close, we have been reflecting on our impact and looking ahead.
The America Succeeds model is supported by knowledge and experience from highly effective networks. Although meaningful change happens at the local level, state-based policy and advocacy groups tend to be small and isolated from groups doing similar work. America Succeeds connects like-minded organizations to generate systems-level change from the bottom-up. Combined with our team’s expertise and a broad range of professional services designed to build capacity, joining the network can help increase an organization’s impact and efficiency as an agent for education change.
Highlights
By collaborating with business, education, and government partners [across Kansas and Missouri], we have built a powerful alliance to tackle the growing imbalance in workforce supply and demand. Making greater investments in a cradle-to-career infrastructure requires business and education to align its priorities. That’s why our mission remains focused on engaging employers in education efforts who promote workforce readiness in an increasingly competitive and globalized world.” – Torree Pederson, Aligned
Economic development today is driven by talent, and the biggest part of that talent pipeline is K-12 public education. When business invests in quality public education, they’re investing in individual, collective, and community economic development. Jobs follow talent. Talent doesn’t follow jobs anymore. Jobs come to where the talent is and the communities who figure that out and are able to attract and retain the middle class, are the communities that will succeed.” – Gary Newton, Arkansas Learns
The vast majority of our work is in human capital. We came to this naturally because there were so many opportunities in that niche. It’s also where the business community has its most authentic voice. We can talk with experience about what it means to recruit great executives and staff, and keep great talent – and the number one thing that kids need is great talent. They need great teachers and school leaders. It’s a perfect intersection between what education needs most and where the business community’s greatest voice can meet.” – Brenda Berg, BEST NC
