Posts By: America Forward

STATE OF PLAY: PAY FOR SUCCESS AND EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY

Using “Pay For Success” to Improve the Energy Efficiency of Affordable Housing

The following blog post was written by John Griffith, Senior Analyst and Project Manager at Enterprise Community Partners, an organization that helps finance, build and advocate for affordable housing in communities across the U.S. Pay for Success initiatives condition government payments for service providers on the outcomes they achieve. This innovative funding strategy targets taxpayer dollars to programs based on
More

Building Blocks for Learning

The following post was written by Pamela Cantor, M.D. and K. Brooke Stafford-Brizard, Ph.D. Adversity does not just happen to children, it happens inside them, through the biological mechanism of stress. It impacts health, behavior, and how they learn. For those familiar with toxic stress, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that a study published in Pediatrics earlier this month
More

How to Build a Stronger Talent Pipeline

The following blog post was written by Elyse Rosenblum, Principal, Grads of Life Earlier this month, President Obama announced that the White House and the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education would nearly double last year’s budget request to support young Americans who are out of school and out of work. By proposing $5.5 billion for summer jobs,
More

To Save Politics, We Must Get More Political

The following blog post was written by Scott Warren, Executive Director of Generation Citizen. It’s hard not to be disillusioned by our country’s political system right now. Our elected officials in Washington spend more time sniping at each other than passing bills, and the presidential campaign stories revolve around twitter spats and finger pointing. While Americans in communities across the
More

The Five Things You Need to Know About the State of the Union Address

When will the President deliver the State of the Union?   Tonight, January 12th, at 9pm ET, President Obama will deliver his final State of the Union Address. The speech will be held in the U.S. Capitol in the House of Representatives Chamber. The speech is expected to last about an hour. The speech will be followed by a Republican
More

America Forward Commends Congressional Passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016

Act provides federal funding for important programs that advance innovation and evidence. WASHINGTON, D.C. | December 18, 2015 – America Forward and Members of the America Forward Coalition issued the following statement today after the Senate passed the Consolidated Appropriations Act to fund the federal government for Fiscal Year 2016. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 65
More

STATE OF PLAY: PAY FOR SUCCESS AND EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY

The Every Student Succeeds Act: How ESSA Advances on Learner-Centered Education

The following post was written by Lexi Barrett, America Forward's Policy Director. Yesterday, the President signed a historic piece of legislation to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) called the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The ESSA includes a number of America Forward K-12 education priorities to help ensure all students have access to a high-quality education that
More

America Forward Tweetstorms ESSA Passage

Yesterday, the Senate passed the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), paving the way for President Obama to sign the most important piece of education legislation of the last decade (see America Forward's statement here). America Forward's staff and leaders from the 70+ innovative organizations in the America Forward Coalition worked incredibly hard over the last year to help shape
More