Blog

Every month, America Forward is highlighting a few examples of the vital work being done by our Coalition members to support students, families, educators, workers, elected leaders, advocates, and communities across the country. If your organization has resources, an announcement, or a story that you would like to see included, please send it to america_forward@newprofit.org.

Equal Opportunity Schools

Equal Opportunity Schools works in partnership with schools and districts to “to ensure that students of color and low-income students have equitable access to America’s most academically intense high school programs and succeed at the highest levels.” Through their resources page, they provide comprehensive tools, best practices, and information to help schools and educators measurably drive equity and promote student success, including videos, reading lists, podcasts, and documentaries; financial, tutoring, and immigration resources; and more.

Colorado Equitable Economic Mobility Initiative (CEEMI)

CEEMI is committed to increasing equity and expanding opportunity for communities across Colorado, harnessing policy to support those facing the greatest barriers to education, workforce, and economic mobility. In service of this work, CEEMI recently collaborated with key partners and stakeholders in drafting the Student Success and Workforce Revitalization Task Force Report, which was just released by the Colorado Department of Higher Education, and which offers key recommendations for how Colorado can most effectively leverage recent federal relief funds to drive meaningful education and workforce results.

Opportunity@Work

Opportunity@Work is dedicated to expanding economic and workforce opportunity for those who are Skilled Through Alternative Routes (STARs), rather than higher education. Too often, these talented and capable workers are overlooked, excluded, or held back from opportunity due to degree discrimination. In their recent report, Rise with the STARs: Building a Stronger Labor Market for STARs, Communities, and Employers, Opportunity@Work outlines “the impact of degree discrimination on employers and STARs and identifies a better path forward for everyone.”

Peer Health Exchange

Ensuring that all young people have access to comprehensive, accurate health information is critical to empowering safe and informed health decisions — especially now, as our young people continue to both confront and recover from the physical and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure their community has access to the health information they need to thrive, Peer Health Exchange offers key resources for young people, including health hotlines, websites, videos, and health center locations.

Bard Early Colleges

20 years ago, Bard College launched Bard Early Colleges with the goal of increasing access to high-quality education through a tuition-free early college program, designed for public school students facing barriers to high school completion and higher education. Their newly-released report, 20 Years of Bard Early College, details how the program has succeeded in creating an alternative education pathway for underserved students, as well as the factors that have contributed to that success over the last two decades.