“As states are given more and more control and leadership on crafting policy solutions to address our workforce and education needs, the opportunity for state and local chambers of commerce to provide meaningful insights and ideas has never been greater. Strong business engagement is necessary if we are truly to help shape our education pipelines for college and career readiness. This is an exciting initiative that will pull research-driven solutions and compile best practices and innovative ideas to help us determine those policy changes that could help us achieve our vision for a thriving and strong 21^st century workforce. We look forward to having this useful resource to help us as we craft our own advocacy initiatives.”

Rocky Mountain Prep is a place where we teach our students experiment, ask tough questions and push each other’s thinking to get to the best answers. Pathway 2 Tomorrow exemplifies that same approach on a large scale to impact education policy across the country. Our RMP scholars are depending on our country’s finest innovative thinkers to rethink our current paradigms and educational system to support their success.

We have made considerable progress in education and there is a lot of the foundation that we should continue to build on – but we haven’t uncovered all the answers. We need P2T and the fresh thinking it will generate to propel the conversation forward into a new era of education reform.

As the skills gap grows and is even more acute in industries where technical skills are essential, community colleges must be front and center in providing solutions. With an emerging focus on workforce and the economy across the country, community colleges will play a critical role in solving our persistent challenges. The time is right for an initiative like P2T that intentionally weaves in community colleges and acknowledges the contributions our colleges and their students bring. We are committed to agile and responsive policies and partnerships to leverage resources and expertise for maximum impact.

“Colorado Succeeds is proud to partner with Pathway 2 Tomorrow and recognizes the important commitment this work is making in pursuing high-quality, innovative, and non-partisan policy solutions. We look forward to supporting and expanding opportunities for students to develop into agile learners.”

Throughout our work and our history, Achieve has witnessed firsthand the power of bringing together diverse groups of education stakeholders to effect systemic change in education. Community engagement with research-based solutions has the potential to spur real progress as we look to develop a strong and prepared 21st-century workforce. We are excited to support the efforts of P2T and its partners as an incubator of innovative ideas that will make a difference for students across the country.

As a legislator, we see the demand for ideas related to workforce and the economy, and strive to ensure the ideas we consider are appropriately aligned between K-12 and higher education. This initiative is responsive to where we are headed as we think about our education systems and improve outcomes for the next generation.

“While we’ve made considerable progress in education, now is the time to build upon that foundation and tailor policy solutions to our unique local contexts. If we identify our local strengths and effectively align them with our local resources and priorities, specifically economic and workforce needs, we will better prepare our students for life. This initiative is timely.”

Community colleges across the country are responding to the emerging priorities of workforce development and the economy and trying to find solutions that will have impact for our communities. We are hopeful that this initiative will identify new ideas for consideration and bring forth policies within each state that enable community colleges to be part of the solution.

“Higher education continues to be a powerful lever for socioeconomic mobility. In order to fully realize that opportunity, we must invest in efforts that identify creative and innovative solutions to our complex challenges. States and communities across the country are looking for locally responsive ideas to meet their unique needs. Students, institutions, businesses and our economy all stand to benefit from finding better alignment between K-12 education, higher education and the workforce.”

“There is a clear need for education policies that better align K12, workforce and higher education. This initiative provides a mechanism to surface ideas that will impact outcomes for students at every level. We are searching for solutions that recognize the importance of high expectations for all students, are accountable to students and taxpayers and are responsive to regional workforce needs. This initiative has promise.”

CCSSO is proud to partner with Pathway 2 Tomorrow on this innovative initiative connecting state and community needs with creative solutions to common issues in education. Across the country, states are using the authority and flexibility granted to them under the Every Student Succeeds Act and are taking the lead to create a more equitable education system for every child. P2T is one way state and local leaders can get connected with new research-based ideas, on everything from career readiness to early childhood education, that could positively impact education outcomes for their students. We look forward to being a part of this highly collaborative project.

Pathway 2 Tomorrow is an exciting initiative that has the potential to transform opportunities across the education continuum. The Hunt Institute looks forward to helping identify innovative and promising policies and to sharing lessons learned with state and local leaders.

“Opportunity exists to drive innovation in education policy and practice at the state level. However, there is a need to create a platform for ideas that states can consider and drive forward based on their unique contexts. This initiative aims to bridge the needs of states in a collaborative way. For Tennessee, now more than ever, we are looking for that next set of innovative and bold ideas to meet the needs of our state and local communities. P2T is timely and responsive.”

Our education system must be agile to prepare every student for an uncertain future. For 25 years, CRPE has worked to develop and test bold, evidence-based strategies for reinventing public education. We are excited to work with Pathway 2 Tomorrow in the quest for game-changing policy ideas to prepare the next generation of leaders and problem-solvers.

At the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition, we strive for schools to embody the diversity of our nation’s people and are always looking for new ways to increase choice in systems and promote diverse-by-design schools. This initiative has the potential to identify new mechanisms that will lead to integrated public schools, increase high-quality educational opportunities for all students and provide policies and ideas for the next horizon in education.

“We are in a critical moment to strengthen the pathways between education and employment in order to address the critical college to career challenges we are experiencing across the country. Pathway 2 Tomorrow has successfully brought together a broad coalition of entities and organizations committed to discovering solutions to these challenges and developing responsive pathways to implement them.”

“As states lead the way and implement their ESSA plans, we will need to curate unique and innovative policies aligned with our state-specific priorities. This initiative meets a critical need, allowing states to usher in the next phase of education reform and focus on establishing a framework to flexibly implement.”

Higher education needs to be reimagined to address many of its persistent challenges. We need new solutions to make higher education more affordable. We need fresh approaches to learning and alignment with our employers to strengthen the workforce and our economy. University Ventures is excited to submit innovative solutions to Pathway 2 Tomorrow’s Call for Proposals and is confident P2T will compile a strong set of fresh ideas to bring to the table.

“Education reform has entered a new era. Education leaders everywhere need to have access to the best, innovative ideas and a menu that allows them to tailor these ideas to their local needs. It is imperative that we build on a solid foundation of high expectations for our students, measure our success in serving all students and provide multiple pathways for all students to be readily prepared for success in life. This initiative will be responsive to existing needs in districts and communities across the country.”

This initiative is keenly responsive to the differing needs of states. The call for policy ideas from a broad array of stakeholders and on a variety of topics will build a comprehensive policy resource that states can utilize in the way that fits their specific need.

“We need a new range of research-driven and locally-based solutions for the next chapter of education policy, politics and practices. Pathway 2 Tomorrow creates an opportunity for a forum and network to consider these ideas and then spread them to other areas that are ready to implement.”

“Most American public schools look, operate, and educate in essentially the same way they did four decades ago when I was a public school student. Even high performing public schools like the elementary school my daughters attend are doing an excellent job of preparing students to graduate into the economy and the world of yesterday. No group or ideology has a monopoly on a kids first agenda. Remaking public education for the children of today and tomorrow requires all sides to listen, learn, and reach across the divide – because we can’t get to the

mountaintop unless we all march together. I’m honored to support and participate in P2T’s much-needed initiative to foster innovative thinking about how to reimagine public education for the children of the 21st Century.”

There is a critical need for building long-term education and policy capacity at the state level. We need innovative and implementable policy ideas to build the next generation K-12 and higher education agenda. I am confident that the ideas developed through this initiative will provide an impetus for state-level groups to engage in cohesive and coordinated policy engagement for sustained impact.

The North Carolina Association for Public Charter Schools is excited to participate in an initiative that seeks to gather innovative ideas for education reform and compile them for access from a variety of stakeholders. The potential benefit to students is immeasurable.

Education policy shouldn’t be a partisan activity. We should be united in supporting schools to equip students with the skills and know-how they’ll need to succeed. This bipartisan effort, Pathway 2 Tomorrow, bridges divides, brings thought leaders together to share and hone their ideas, and helps states identify those policies that will be effective for them. We need this, now more than ever.

The wheels are in motion to make lasting change in education to give all people equal access to the future. We are seeing an influx of education leaders as well as entrepreneurs from technology and other sectors engage education to bring their talents and innovative solutions. We’re seeing the market begin to shift to encourage more public-private partnerships and responsive innovations for the future. Now is the time to bring forward even more ideas to help us disrupt the status quo and see faster results. It’s critical that we support partnerships between diverse entities all of whom have unique insights to bring to bear in solving the challenges of the future – P2T provides this opportunity.

The best education policy ideas arise from a sense of shared ownership among those closest to students and communities and are informed by research. Pathway 2 Tomorrow shares NASBE’s commitment to an excellent education for every student and is working to find innovative solutions to meet local community needs. We are excited to partner with P2T on this work, and we look forward to the rich conversations that this work will inspire in state boards of education across the nation.

“The progress of education reform over the last decade is encouraging, but it’s happening too slowly. We must urgently work to transform America’s education system if we hope to ensure our students are ready for the most competitive economic climate in history. I know the Pathway 2 Tomorrow initiative will be a great resource for education leaders as we work together to align our K-12, higher education and workforce resources so every student can succeed in school and throughout life.”

“As states lead the way, we will need to curate unique policy priorities aligned with our state-specific environments. This initiative’s focus on developing 21st Century, agile policy ideas that build on a strong foundation of high expectations and accountability is exactly what we need. Then, we will implement.”

“Community solutions have a critical role to play when it comes to impacting student outcomes. As a community, we must come together to fully align in support of public education equity and quality in ways that make sense locally. P2T’s focus on community solutions, both seeking transformative ideas from the ground level and then bringing together local communities to implement, represents an urgent need we see today.”

“This timely and necessary initiative is very exciting as it illustrates the importance of an active, meaningful partnership between K-12 and higher education in finding solutions for local and regional challenges. Together, I feel we will find fresh, innovative ideas to bridge K-12 and higher education to be more cohesive, while simultaneously weaving in the prescient need to align with the workforce and the economy.”

I’m excited to participate in the Pathway 2 Tomorrow. In this venue, I hope to be able to explore whether middle and upper income suburbanites can be in lock step with lower-income underserved urban areas, voting in unison on pragmatic solutions to education inequities. These are important issues that leaders rarely actually get to work on…but do now!

“We are consistently hearing from our federation of state and local chambers the need for innovative policy ideas to align with the skills needed to be successful in the 21^st century economy. It is particularly important to expose our K12 learners to the careers of the future and higher education to solve for challenges related to workforce and the economy. There have to be new innovative ideas on the table and better alignment between K12, higher education and workforce needs.”

“Alignment between K-12 and higher education is imperative to increase outcomes for all students. There is a lot of work we must continue to do to improve that alignment from cradle to career, and specifically on accelerated mechanisms for high school students so they are ready to earn post-secondary credential needed to enter today’s workforce. We must find innovative strategies to be more responsive to 21st Century workforce needs by increasing the talent pipeline. This initiative has the potential to uncover creative solutions to meet those needs.”

“Charter schools are an essential part of the fabric of American public education. Charter schools, like all public schools, benefit from innovative policies to increase student outcomes and better align with career and post-secondary options. The ideas generated as part of this initiative have the potential to propel schools forward and prepare students for the future.”

“Now is the time to harness and harmonize the voices of state and local leaders to foster the next generation of policy solutions in education.  Let’s make room for teacher leaders in that equation – to contribute their best ideas, to innovate and leverage systemic change, and to create the conditions that shape opportunity for their students.  We’re excited that Pathway 2 Tomorrow intentionally seeks the diverse and practical experiences of teacher leaders to develop and advance these policy ideas.  We look forward to contributing to this important initiative.”

“I recognize that great state-level policy doesn’t automatically translate into working, localized success; having this resource, along with some associated—and proven—initiatives, can really open up opportunities for local Chambers and similar organizations.”

“A bi-partisan, centrist approach to education policy for supporting student success is as rare as it is important. Pathway 2 Tomorrow has the capacity to be just that: the right initiative at the right time.​”

“The greatest pathway to strengthening America’s workforce is public education.  Charter schools serve as key contributors implementing innovative policies and strategies benefiting each child’s academic growth and success.  These efforts can only continue to grow and thrive if built on a solid foundation of innovative policy solutions.  Together innovative practice and policy will allow our nation’s public schools to transform the lives of students.  The future of our nation depends on it.”

“In so many of today’s conversations about education reform, the one thing I frequently don’t hear discussed is student outcomes. Outcomes may sometimes be implied, but should be clearly defined, and expectations must be high.

Today’s students need to be prepared for a future that will require the skills and agility to adapt to the rapid pace of technological change. To do that, we need to start thinking more flexibly to break down the silos separating K-12 and postsecondary and expand our definition of higher education to encompass any kind of learning that allows students to write their own next chapter.”

“At CASEL, we believe evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) is a missing piece in American education. It’s time to make SEL an integral part of education from preschool through high school. As an element to help fuel faster and broader growth, we hope P2T identifies solutions like SEL that help to scale and spread good practice and become integral parts of every student’s education.”