Building and Scaling Equitable Pathways in Your Region

Creating an equitable learning and work system means looking at the root causes of racial inequity, not just the impact. Read this blog to learn about the foundational terms fruits and roots as they relate to racial equity and how understanding them can support your practice.

This podcast explores the distinction between the fruit and roots of racial inequity in the United States, including how they manifest in our education-to-career systems, what tackling these complex problems looks like in action, and ideas for how to center racial equity in both process and outcome. Listen to this episode and reflect on the core concepts of fruit and roots in racial equity policy and practices in your own context and work.

This blog focuses on institutional racism and the role of intermediaries in addressing it within their organizations and among partners in a pathways ecosystem. Read the post and think about how intermediaries, through their leadership, can model an approach for others in the field of education and workforce development to emulate.

This blog explores how an intermediary moved from a conceptual understanding of the 'Fruit and Root' framework to an operational understanding of personal bias and interpersonal racism and the practical application of tactics to address them. Read and reflect on the practices put in place by the intermediary to address some of the roots of racism.

This podcast considers the evolution of intermediary positioning across the nation and takes stock of the work ahead to center equity in education-to-career pathways at scale. Listen to this episode and reflect on the guests’ perspectives on what they experienced navigating career pathways as youth themselves and the role they see young people playing in future systems change efforts.

This blog highlights the efforts and successes of an intermediary addressing structural racism through systems change. Read and explore the embedded resources to better understand the various strategies used to change systems and positively impact racial equity.

This assessment helps intermediaries understand their efforts to date related to supporting racial equity practices and strategies. Complete this simple questionnaire and reflect on the questions asked to determine where you think your organization is in terms of building out or delivering each function to build pathways that positively impact Black and Latine youth and youth experiencing poverty.

This framework provides practitioners with an opportunity to examine the roots of inequity in their communities and develop a plan to address the identified inequities. Review the activities and protocols and set aside dedicated time for you and your team to complete and reflect on your responses.

This blog addresses the common gaps in capacity to do what we aspire to do with data and the primary work of data teams in intermediary organizations. Read and reflect on where your data team is spending its time.

This blog highlights the importance of presenting data with context and as part of a larger narrative. Review and explore affiliated resources to understand how context with data is critical.

This podcast explores the theme of storytelling, how it informs racial equity efforts, and how data contribute to these narratives overall. Listen to the episode and reflect on the specific examples of data to track to measure equity outcomes.

This blog highlights the importance of data to inform and influence strategy and mobilize. Read how one intermediary worked with partners to build a data ecosystem with essential data to pinpoint where and how its system was failing and where it was working toward equitable outcomes.

This blog advocates for intermediaries to adopt a “do with” approach instead of a “do for” mentality when developing their data practices. Review and explore affiliated resources to learn how this approach can lead to stronger evidence and better outcomes.

This podcast highlights the importance of data to inform not only what is happening in pathway programs but also how they can be improved. Listen to the episode and reflect on how the guests are using data, both qualitative and quantitative, to inform their pathway programs.

This framework outlines the conditions necessary for enabling responsible data collection and analysis and empowering data-driven decision-making. Review this document to better understand the contextual components that allow organizations to drive more equitable outcomes.

In this brief, intermediaries share metrics they prioritize when determining if and how their pathways work successfully, resulting in more equitable outcomes. Review this resource to learn about the various data metrics to consider tracking and sharing to advance system change.

This assessment helps intermediaries understand their efforts to date related to building a strong data infrastructure. Complete this simple questionnaire to determine where you think your organization is in terms of building out or delivering your data infrastructure to build pathways that positively impact Black and Latine youth and youth experiencing poverty.

This webinar shares strategies for understanding and leveraging labor market data to inform program pathway designs with equity in mind. Watch this episode and think about how this data might be useful in your own work or organizational practices.

This resource provides four guiding principles that intermediary staff and leaders can use to support equitable career outcomes for youth—particularly Black and Latine youth and young people who are experiencing poverty. Read this document and reflect on the principles for guiding and engaging with youth.

This blog addresses the narratives, both positive and negative, that are often made regarding youth and young adults on their education and career pathway journeys. Read and reflect on the narratives that are present in your organization and region.

This blog advocates for intermediaries to adopt a “do with” approach instead of a “do for” mentality when developing their data practices. Review and explore affiliated resources to learn how this approach can lead to stronger evidence and better outcomes.

This podcast explores the importance of tapping into the passions—and elevating the voices of—youth, community members, policymakers, and industry leaders to support change at scale. Listen to this episode and reflect on how the guests engaged and cultivated community champions and ensured their voices were heard in the development of equitable education and career pathways.

This podcast highlights how intermediaries’ practices in the education-to-career pathways space, individually and organizationally, have evolved over time in response to durable inequities in educational and career outcomes for youth. Listen to the episode and reflect on the ways the guests identified and engaged champions to support their organization's goals and efforts toward equitable pathways.

In this webinar, national experts share how they engage with employers and educators to encourage new thinking and embrace a concurrent approach to education and work. Watch and reflect on the activities undertaken to engage young people and move them to the forefront to co-create strategy, design programs and opportunities, and contribute to policy and advocacy.

This blog offers examples of effective approaches to engaging young people in policy and advocacy work. Read and reflect on your practices of incorporating young people's perspectives into your policy and program design efforts.

This blog highlights the efforts and successes of an intermediary addressing structural racism through systems change. Read and explore the embedded resources to better understand how to incorporate youth and community voice into systems-change efforts.

While not all pathway programs need to meet Registered Apprenticeship criteria, this framework provides a detailed overview of the elements to consider when developing a quality program. Review this framework and reflect on the field-informed program design elements and considerations.

This report tells the story of the young people that came together and worked with professional advocates to save the 2020 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) in New York City. Read and reflect on the ways youth voice can be used to advocate for and impact funding and policy decisions.

This toolkit was designed for schools and school districts to increase family engagement across career pathways programs of study. While this resource is developed for schools, the content can easily be adapted for intermediary programs. Review and reflect on the various recommendations for engaging the family in career pathways programs of study.

This report clarifies the roles intermediaries play in college and career pathways systems. Review this resource and reflect on the intermediary functions, features, identities, and roles in their ecosystems.

This webinar builds upon the Intermediary Functions and Features in Pathways Systems report and elevates the learnings of leading local, regional, and state-level intermediary organizations working to build and promote equitable pathways. Watch and learn the core work, functions, and design features of intermediary organizations that are essential to develop, organize, and mobilize stakeholders for equitable college and career pathways in the communities they serve.

This blog focuses on institutional racism and the role of intermediaries in addressing it within their organizations and among partners in a pathways ecosystem. Read the post and think about how intermediaries, through their leadership, can model an approach for others in the field of education and workforce development to emulate.

This resource presents six hypotheses to guide the development of pathways that equitably support all young people, especially youth of color and youth who are experiencing poverty. Review the resources to understand the hypotheses and what they look like in action.

This podcast highlights how intermediaries’ practices in the education-to-career pathways space, individually and organizationally, have evolved over time in response to durable inequities in educational and career outcomes for youth. Listen to the episode and reflect on the ways the guests identified and engaged champions to support their organization's goals and efforts toward equitable pathways.

This guide provides intermediaries with best practices in communications along with tools and sample messages to help them stand out and unite partners to build equitable pathways. Read this guide and reflect on the importance of intentional messaging and communication.

This webinar highlights how an intermediary built and scaled a statewide system that connects learning with careers, creates pathways to jobs that are high wage and in demand, and is accessible to all young people. Watch and learn how the intermediary moved from vision and creation to implementing and scaling a statewide system.

With this tool, intermediary organizations can gauge their capacity and effectiveness in leading and supporting the creation, improvement, and sustainability of high-quality career pathways for Black and Latine youth and young people who are experiencing poverty. Review the planning tool, evaluate your area against the six hypotheses, and reflect on the prompting questions in the document. (Review the Equitable Pathways Hypotheses Spotlights in the Building Capacity section before taking this assessment.)

This framework provides practitioners with an opportunity to examine the roots of inequity in their communities and develop a plan to address the identified inequities. Review the activities and protocols and set aside dedicated time for you and your team to complete and reflect on your responses.

This podcast brings together leaders to reflect on what experiences called them to this work, the commitments they hold about what needs to change, and how together we can collaborate differently to advance a vision for and of equity. Listen to this episode and imagine if you were the one being interviewed.

This report clarifies the roles intermediaries play in college and career pathways systems. Review this resource and reflect on the intermediary functions, features, identities, and roles in their ecosystems.

This podcast focuses on how intermediaries can help education and work systems reorient themselves to better engage in the collaborative design of strategies, and to seek and listen to the voices of youth who live and work in our communities about what they need. Listen to the episode and reflect on the examples guests share.

This resource presents six hypotheses to guide the development of pathways that equitably support all young people, especially youth of color and youth who are experiencing poverty. Review the resources to understand the hypotheses and what they look like in action.

This guide provides intermediaries with best practices in communications along with tools and sample messages to help them stand out and unite partners to build equitable pathways. Read this guide and reflect on the importance of intentional messaging and communication.

This podcast highlights the challenge of trying something new—and the vulnerability needed to do explorative work in inequitable education and workforce systems. Listen to the episode and reflect on why and how the partners from education and industry engaged with an intermediary organization to address inequity.

This podcast explores how intermediaries partner with employers to address systemic inequity. Listen to this episode and reflect on how the guests intentionally engaged the employer community and sustained partnership for positive outcomes.

This podcast highlights how intermediaries’ practices in the education-to-career pathways space, individually and organizationally, have evolved over time in response to durable inequities in educational and career outcomes for youth. Listen to the episode and reflect on the ways the guests identified and engaged champions to support their organization's goals and efforts toward equitable pathways.

With this tool, intermediary organizations can gauge their capacity and effectiveness in leading and supporting the creation, improvement, and sustainability of high-quality career pathways for Black and Latine youth and young people who are experiencing poverty. Review the planning tool, evaluate your area against the six hypotheses, and reflect on the prompting questions in the document. (Review the Equitable Pathways Hypotheses Spotlights in the "Building Capacity" section before taking this assessment.)

This easy-to-use guide describes the purpose of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), outlines the process for developing one, and provides sample templates for adaptation. Review the resource and think about how you can use MOUs to better fulfill your role as a connector among partners working to provide college and career pathways.

This resource is designed to help intermediaries effectively design strong college and career pathways. Review the included examples of clearly defined career pathways and how to distill career pathway information to share with young people and partners.

This blog offers examples of effective approaches to engaging young people in policy and advocacy work. Read and reflect on your practices of incorporating young people's perspectives into your policy and program design efforts.

This guide supports intermediaries and their community college partners in forming productive and lasting relationships. Review the resource and reflect on your current partnerships with postsecondary institutions.

This webinar highlights ways to support collaboration and capacity building across sectors to create equitable access to education and employment opportunities that positively impact young people and the community. Watch and learn about the key components and indicators of success Rush University System for Health used to evaluate its program.

This podcast highlights the importance of data to inform not only what is happening in pathway programs but also how they can be improved. Listen to the episode and reflect on how the guests are using data, both qualitative and quantitative, to inform their pathway programs.

While not all pathway programs need to meet Registered Apprenticeship criteria, this framework provides a detailed overview of the elements to consider when developing a quality program. Review this framework and reflect on the field-informed program design elements and considerations.

This brief helps intermediaries better understand why policy is a valuable tool in efforts to implement and scale equitable pathways. Review this resource to learn the potential ways in which intermediaries can influence policy within their local and state ecosystems.

This blog offers guidance to intermediaries on policy and advocacy. Read and reflect on the three ways advocates can keep racial equity at the center of their work.

This blog takes a closer look at what it means to design policy in a way that centers equity. Read and review the eight principles for equitable policy.

This blog offers examples of effective approaches to engaging youth in policy and advocacy work. Read and reflect on your practices of incorporating young people's perspectives into your policy and program design efforts.

This podcast brings together two policy experts to discuss how equitable and data-informed practices become codified in our systems’ policies to drive economic advancement. Listen and reflect on how the two guests brought diverse stakeholders together to mobilize toward policy change.

This resource outlines potential actions and roles for intermediaries to engage in policy and advocacy by outlining how intermediaries can influence the design and implementation of policy solutions to address systemic inequity. Read and reflect on the five key areas of work for intermediaries to explore in determining where and how they can drive widescale reform across all aspects of the policy process.

This framework covers 12 key state policy issues that are essential to strengthening pathways and closing equity gaps. The issue areas are organized into three overarching pillars—foundational conditions, pathways-friendly policies, and ecosystem enablers—and highlight a mix of levers for policy change. The framework includes a curated list of examples of states progressing on each policy issue area. 

This assessment follows the review of the State Policy Framework for Building Equitable Pathways. Take the assessment to determine your current policy landscape.