Mar 9, 2020
In 2002, 30 percent of fourth-grade students in the United States were reading at or above proficiency levels. Seventeen years later, in 2019, that number had […]
Oct 7, 2019
I've been thinking a lot about the handoff problem between different points along the pathway to lifelong success, and in my most recent posts, I've focused on the transition from high school to some kind of post-secondary education or training that results in a good-paying job. To help ensure the success of a young person on the pathway, those three components of the pathway high school, further schooling or training, and
Sep 23, 2019
What does it actually mean to have a social contract for the 21st century? That's the question I found myself asking after speaking with Kevin Dowling. You met him in another recent post, although not by name. He and I first crossed paths at a Future of Work event at which I was a panelist, where he told me about his experience going from high school to culinary school but ended up dropping out with debt, depression,
Sep 9, 2019
Some years back, Michael Scannell mentored, as part of the Year Up program, a bright young man he describes as someone you could tell had a tremendous amount of potential. He had been working at one of the big box stores and had a passion for computers and technology. When he completed Year Up, he was placed as an intern at a Boston law firm. I knew where he had come from. I learned about the challenges he faced
Aug 23, 2019
I recently heard two stories I want to share. Each of them illustrates an aspect of how we, together as a society, are failing to ensure that people can get on and stay on a pathway to lifelong success. The first story was told to me by a young man who had been able to get accepted to a culinary arts program after high school. It was the beginning of a dream come true, and the program made clear promises that upon graduation