Building Equitable Pathways

In partnership with

At a Glance

JFF is partnering with organizations across the country to equip all young people with the tools they need to move seamlessly from education to careers, especially Black and Latinx youth and young people who are experiencing poverty.

Capabilities

Design

Scale

Influence

Areas of Work

Ensuring Equity in Advancement

Topics

Experts Involved

Amy Loyd
Vice President, Programs
Kyle Hartung
Associate Vice President
Nancy Hoffman
Senior Advisor
Derek Niño
Associate Director

Status

In progress

Locations

Sections

Goals

Partners

Key Hypotheses

Resources

This work, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, aims to provide youth with the information and support they need to make informed choices for their futures—especially young people who have too often been denied access to these key resources. The goal is to dramatically increase the number of young people, ages 14 to 24, who are Black, Latinx, or experiencing poverty, who have the agency, social capital, skills, and credentials needed to thrive in the workforce and in life. A deep commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion stands at the heart of this initiative.

We must equip all young people with the tools to move seamlessly from education to careers. JFF is thrilled . . . to lead this work to strengthen national systems of high-quality college and career pathways for youth who are Black, Latinx, and experiencing poverty.

Amy Loyd, Vice President, JFF

JFF is working with seven intermediary organizations to share, co-create, improve upon, and codify best practices and exciting innovations in the role of intermediary organizations focused on building equitable pathways.

Our co-leads, Equal Measure and Square Button, are providing the intermediaries with high-quality expert support in evaluation and sustainability planning, respectively. Equal Measure strengthens how organizations design, implement, evaluate, and communicate the program, policy, and systems change they seek. Square Button draws on its operational and project management expertise to help organizations build and grow to their full potential.

JFF is leading and learning with seven intermediary organizations across the country that serve diverse youth.

The seven intermediary organizations involved in this initiative are working to strengthen national systems of high-quality college and career pathways to better serve young people who are Black, Latinx, and experiencing poverty.

Intermediaries are critical to the cross-sector collaboration required for building systems and scaling work-based learning. They play a key role in bringing together leaders in K-12 and postsecondary education, industry, and government to forge partnerships, craft strategies, and source funding to develop college and career pathways.

The six hypotheses listed below were created to guide the development of pathways that equitably support all young people, especially youth of color and youth who are experiencing poverty, in building rewarding and fruitful futures.

The Building Equitable Pathways intermediary partners committed to testing the six hypotheses in their work. Though none of the intermediaries fully built out all six hypotheses during the first year of this work, each provides a useful example of how the hypotheses work in the real world.

K-12 Partnerships

Strong partnership and alignment with local K-12 schools and districts

Postsecondary Partnerships

Strong partnership and alignment with local postsecondary institutions

Alignment with Labor Market Demands

Articulated paths aligned to local labor market demands

Employer Partnerships

Strong partnership with the local employer community to advance opportunities for work-based learning

Sustainability

Sustainable business model

Policy

Policy agenda and supporting strategies

The Building Equitable Pathways hypotheses guide the development of pathways that equitably support all young people, especially youth of color and youth who are experiencing poverty, in building rewarding and successful futures. Learn what the hypotheses look like in action.

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This resource clarifies the roles intermediaries play in college and career pathways systems. It can be useful for envisioning a brand-new organization or strengthening the intermediary functions of an existing organization. Your organization can use this guide during a strategic planning process or at any time to reflect on its practices, shift its focus, or reconnect to its mission.

This planning tool will allow your organization to plan, partner, and do the work necessary to become a more effective intermediary in your unique context.

This brief illustrates the power intermediaries have to influence policy, so they can be more effective in supporting their partners and driving positive change in their communities and across their states.

This guide supports intermediaries and their community college partners in forming productive and lasting relationships. The goal of these partnerships is to provide high school students with opportunities to earn college credits that will help them build their future careers.

Visit Our Equitable Recovery Hub