Join Us in Building a Future That Works for Young People: The Pathways to Prosperity Coalition

In April 2023, we announced the launch of the Pathways to Prosperity (PtoP) Coalition, which will build on the Pathways to Prosperity movement’s success in reimagining how we prepare young people for the future of work. A coalition allows for expanded participation of committed and innovative organizations with leaders, practitioners, and policymakers advancing pathways strategies and systems in their states and regions. This revamped Coalition allows us to more seamlessly harness our collective power and thinking in addressing persistent inequities in our education systems and labor market. We are stepping into this work with a keen focus on equity, an experimental frame of mind, and a commitment to achieving systems change and transformation.

What is our vision for activating and leveraging the power of the Coalition?

The Pathways to Prosperity Coalition harnesses the power of our collective work and voices and addresses a fragmented field. With fluid engagement opportunities, we bring more voices and perspectives to the table, enabling us all to share our best ideas to address persistent inequities in our education systems and labor market.

Annually, the Coalition will define a set of priorities and goals that will set the direction for key activities. By establishing annual priorities, we ensure our collective focus, measure progress made, and continue to spot the barriers we must address.

For this year, we’ve defined three priorities:

• Advancing postsecondary leadership: Leadership from colleges—the institutions strategically linking high schools, career preparation, and employers—will drive pathways design, support connections across key stakeholders, and support equitable labor market outcomes for all.
• Scaling work-based learning: Work-based learning provides students from all backgrounds—not just those who are well connected—with opportunities to build professional networks and social capital, gain insight into workplace dynamics and how to navigate them, and earn income while developing skills aligned to a career of interest. We must make more progress, more quickly, on scaling this critical strategy for equitable pathways.
• Innovating pathways systems, models, and strategies: The pathways movement must evolve to meet the future while continuing to build on the good work and proven strategies of the last decade. We will work together to develop and test new ideas to address the enduring disconnects in our K-12, higher education, and workforce systems.

Who are the members of the Coalition, and what do they do?

Coalition partners collaborate with JFF on specific projects to advance evidence-based initiatives designed to test, validate, and scale innovative strategies, models, and systems.

Coalition partners engage in activities that support knowledge sharing, relationship building, and research-backed innovation. Engagement opportunities include:

• “Book clubs” that explore ways to apply and learn from new research and data
• Twice-annual institutes that convene Coalition partners for two days of shared learning, networking, and discussion
• Ideation events that elicit practitioner and policymaker voices and perspectives to ensure our collective best thinking is harnessed for our most challenging problems
• Learning webinars that unpack and explore different angles of the five Pathways to Prosperity levers

How can I join the Coalition?

If you’re interested in working with us to transform our education systems as a member of the PtoP Coalition, please complete this form so that we can send you our newsletter that features opportunities to engage in Pathways to Prosperity and the national pathways movement.

Please click here to learn more about joining the Pathways to Prosperity Network and unlocking a set of members-only benefits and opportunities for deeper engagement and thought partnership with our team.