Hey there,
Summer is in full swing! Our colleagues have traveled across the world. From relaxing on St. John’s in the U.S. Virgin Islands to celebrating in Angel Fire, New Mexico, to hiking the trails of Colorado, we’re taking advantage of the good weather here at America Succeeds – and we hope you are too!
We’re excited to update you on what we’ve been up to.
Warmly,
America Succeeds
Durable Skills
The Durable Skills initiative at America Succeeds seeks to ensure every individual is prepared with the soft skills necessary for success in the workforce regardless of educational attainment, career path, or industry sector.
Our coalition continues to grow! Thank you to our partners for your ongoing support. Learn more and join the coalition.
Equity in Education
A critical part of building a diverse talent and leadership pipeline is addressing the systemic racism in the structure, policies, and practices of our education system. We must reimagine and restructure education systems to better work for all.
We’re thrilled to have the following organizations as partners in our mission of education equity! Support our Equity in Education initiative and join our growing coalition.
Network Updates
Our state partners are hard at work, leading as business champions for students and educators. Check out a few highlights below:
Colorado
Colorado Succeeds is celebrating a successful 2021 legislative session with multiple wins for kids. Colorado high school seniors will now have more flexibility in designing their class schedules and experiences to align better with their post-secondary plans. The state is also increasing its investment in concurrent enrollment and its Career Development Incentive Program, ensuring students have more opportunities to graduate with college credit and/or in-demand industry-recognized credentials. Learn more about these victories, as well as advances for early childhood education, COVID-related academic recovery supports, and more in this legislative recap.
Colorado business leaders, including a Colorado Succeeds board member, also wrote a recent op-ed in the Colorado Sun encouraging school district leaders to spend federal stimulus dollars wisely, including investing in high-quality teacher preparation and data infrastructure and “identifying one or two big bets and doing them really well,” rather than “spreading the money on many small projects that are difficult to manage.” The full op-ed is worth a read.
Massachusetts
The Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education (MBAE) also has been advocating that the state rethink its approach to high school education through multiple venues over the past couple of months. In an op-ed in Commonwealth Magazine, Ed Lambert argued that Massachusetts should increase access to STEM careers through the P-TECH high school model. And in testimony before the Joint Committee on Education, MBAE pushed policymakers to support legislation that would “expand career-connected learning and opportunities for high school students… to earn industry-recognized credentials that are tied to labor market demand.” You can read the full testimony here.
North Carolina
You may remember BEST NC’s innovative principal preparation initiative, TP3. Since the program launched in 2015, it has grown as a model for redefining how school leaders are trained. And the hard work has paid off. This year TP3 officially completed its merger with the state’s Principal Fellows program and will now produce over 200 graduates every two years through eight institutions. Read more about this year’s winners of the competitive state grant here.
What’s Next?
In early August, we’ll be at the ASU+GSV Summit, presenting alongside our board member, Jamie Candee, CEO of Edmentum.
