"Fostering Future Success" issue (May)
A newsletter (for adults) about career readiness (for kids)
Dear Readers,
Amidst seemingly unprecedented turmoil in the education space, I'm thankful for all of the many ways in which ASA fulfills its mission to foster future success for all young people, in and beyond the classroom. For example, we recently awarded $17 million in grants to nonprofits, with a goal of helping middle and high school students achieve postsecondary education and career success. (Read the story.) We also teamed up with nonprofit Building Hope to give the ASA Career Education Champion Awards to two schools on opposite sides of the country. (Read the story.) And, we’re reaching millions of teens directly through our free EvolveMe career readiness platform (visit the site), which now includes IBM SkillsBuild to help young people build in-demand skills in areas such as AI, UX design, and cybersecurity. (Read the story.) I'm heartened to see the momentum being generated--across the ecosystem of caring adults who support young people--to improve the way kids move through K-12 education and into postsecondary pursuits. I’m always thrilled to be able to share those stories with you in this newsletter. Here are some highlights:
The Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE) has published a book, Successful Middle School Transitions, which educators can use to ensure every student finds their place. (Learn more.) More than 150 students and teachers were welcomed to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland to learn about technical careers. (Read the story.) Amazon has awarded $16 million in college tuition and paid internships to 400 U.S. high school seniors through its Amazon Future Engineer program. (Read the story.) New America reflects on what it takes to build high-quality youth apprenticeships. (Read their story.) And Getting Smart explains how students can benefit from credentials, not just grades. (Read the story.)
Each month, I invite you to watch the latest episode of “Youth Career Readiness: The One-Question Podcast” — my collaboration with author Michael Horn. This month, we interviewed former college football coach, Lou Holtz. We asked him what career and life advice he would share with young people. Lou replied by offering three simple rules anyone can use to help them make good choices. (Watch the episode.) You can also explore our past interviews, with well-known guests like Yo-Yo Ma, Common, John Pankow, Tanya Wright, and others. (Explore the One Question library. Scroll down to the “Episodes” section of the page.)
In closing, I encourage everyone to do what you can, no matter how small the act, to engage young people in their future planning.
Sincerely,
Jean
P.S. - If you’d like to reach me directly, I’d love to hear from you. Email me at press@asa.org
ADDITIONAL INDUSTRY NEWS & RESEARCH
Middle School Career-connected Learning Can Help Students Look to the future (Medium.com, May 12, 2025)
The DeBruce Foundation Launches 2025 Graduation Toolkit to Empower Career Success (DeBruce Foundation Newsroom, April 28, 2025)
Data Shows Growing AI Adoption in K-12 (eSchool News, April 18, 2025)
Hundreds of Students Get Hands-on Experience with Science Projects (RecordNet, April 17, 2025)
Why Some Schools Are Ditching Class Rank and Weighted GPAs (Education Week, April 14, 2025)
Schools Push Career Ed Classes ‘For All,’ Even Kids Heading to College (The Hechinger Report, April 21, 2025)
Maryland is Still in a Literacy Crisis (K-12 Dive, April 16, 2025)
More High Schoolers are Taking College Classes — but No Surprise Which Students Benefit Most (Cal Matters, April 16, 2025)
Area Middle Schoolers Plan for the Future at CEANCI Career Fair (WIFR, March 25, 2025)
Why This School System Is Integrating AI Literacy With Algebra 1 (Education Week, April 16, 2025)
EVENTS
Finally, below is a list of upcoming events, and recaps of recent panel presentations and webinars, that elevate critical conversations in the youth career readiness space.
REGISTER TO ATTEND
Horizons Summit (New Orleans, June 10-11, 2025 - Learn more)
The CAPS Network Summer Huddle (Kansas City, June 23-25, 2025 – Learn more)
Uncharted Learning National Summit (Chicago, July 8-10 - Learn more)
Big Picture Learning - Big Bang Conference 2025 (Providence, RI, July 21-25 - Learn more)
EVENT RECAPS
Recalculating Routes from Education to Careers (Read the recap)
Getting Real: Skills-based Hiring: Insights from HolonIQ Global Skills Week (Read the recap)