Strada Education Foundation

Last week, our President and CEO, Stephen Moret, had the opportunity to testify at a House Committee on Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing on “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for America's Workforce.” Stephen shared his thoughts about how WIOA can strengthen pathways to economic security for individuals and enhance workforce competitiveness for employers. 

What an amazing weekend! More than 400 remarkable students enrolled at 49 HBCUs gathered for a summit in Dallas, TX. These talented young people - #StradaScholars - gathered, learned and reflected on leadership as they prepare for their careers. Several important themes emerged in the discussions, including the value of paid internships and the importance of education-to-career guidance and coaching. Special thanks to Dr. Ruth D. Jones, a keynote speaker who shared her remarkable leadership journey as a NASA scientist, Mr. Ernest Newborn II, an executive with USI and Strada's board chair, and Mr. Daryl A. Graham , Strada SVP and leader of the HBCU initiative. A couple of personal highlights from the Summit: ➡️ A presentation from Samarth Desai on Strada's strategy that I was able to join and that emphasized the role of internships in better earnings outcomes for students. ➡️ A panel of early career professionals that included Doris Juarez, M.S.Ed, D. Tremayne Horne, and Craig Robinson. ➡️ An insightful discussion with Dr. Florence Lyons from Albany State University on her dedication to providing work-based learning opportunities to students at the University. ➡️ Conversations with scores of talented students, including a celebration of 2025 graduates, such as Central State University's Jeremy and Elaina. What an energizing event and an incredible group of Scholars!

This week, we joined the Institute for Higher Education Policy and other colleagues in Celebrating and Accelerating Attainment: 2025 & Beyond, a celebration of the postsecondary completion movement. Here are some highlights: 📊 Our CEO and President, Stephen Moret, spoke during a session on reimagining higher education: “Post-college outcomes is the next frontier, the unfinished business of the attainment movement.” 💼 Our Senior Vice President of Work-Based Learning, Laura Thompson Love, participated in an engaging panel on the future of career-aligned postsecondary policies and practices: “Students are looking for more than a class. They are looking for a supportive environment, and that includes quality work-based learning opportunities.” #AccelerateAttainment

This past week, we hosted the 2025 HBCU Leadership Summit in Dallas, TX, with more than 400 #StradaScholars representing partner HBCUs from around the country. We gathered for a weekend of learning, networking, and community building. 🤝 Strada Scholars learned about personal branding, how to navigate graduate school and the workforce, and the different experiences of industry professionals.  🚀 We listened to several inspirational speeches, including from this year’s keynote speaker, Dr. Ruth D. Jones from NASA. 👏 And most notably, we celebrated the success of Strada Scholars, especially graduating seniors. Thank you to all who participated and for making the event possible, especially Senior Vice President of HBCU and Engagement, Daryl A. Graham, and his team.

A new NGA paper, developed with The Project on Workforce at Harvard, looks at how Governors are leveraging WIOA to design, fund and implement workforce development strategies in an evolving economic landscape. https://lnkd.in/e456etYK

✉️ Be the first to receive resources, stories, and updates from Strada, right to your inbox: https://lnkd.in/eZifcxDG Check out our March newsletters featuring: 🏫 Our President and CEO, Stephen Moret testified at a House Committee on Education and Workforce subcommittee hearing on “Strengthening WIOA: Improving Outcomes for America's Workforce.” https://lnkd.in/eajzx_2P ✏️ Our Research team, Nichole Torpey-Saboe, and Akua Amankwah-Ayeh surveyed recent graduates on how the practice of restricting majors impacts and shapes student experiences. https://lnkd.in/eP9jMewd 💻 Our friends at InsideTrack hosted a webinar on how one state has helped thousands of adult learners return to college and complete degrees.

Recently, Heather McKay, Senior Vice President of Employer Engagement and Executive Director of the Strada Institute for the Future of Work, joined team members from the Vermont Student Assistance Corp (VSAC) during the Education Finance Council Annual Membership Meeting for a timely discussion on how states are expanding workforce development and training. 💼 The session covered state legislation activities, and workforce development and training opportunities in connecting education with postsecondary attainment.

We are proud to be part of Celebrating and Accelerating Attainment: 2025 & Beyond, a celebration of the postsecondary completion movement. We will be joined by peers during this two-day conference, celebrating progress and shaping the future of post-high-school success. 📅 April 2-3, 2025 📍 Washington, D.C., at the Waldorf Astoria 🔗 Learn more and register at https://lnkd.in/eCdFQb3H   #AccelerateAttainment

Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce recently released an updated data tool that assesses the return on investment for 4,600 colleges and universities. 📈 Their revised tool includes data from all colleges and universities from the College Scorecard and tracks returns between 10 and 40 years of enrollment. Read more from Inside Higher Ed: https://lnkd.in/ewQNT7Qb 

#ICYMI - Our Research team, Nichole Torpey-Saboe and Akua Amankwah-Ayeh surveyed recent graduates on how the practice of restricting majors impacts and shapes student experiences. Here are some of their findings: 🛑 Restrictions on majors have a large impact on what students decide to study. The majority of recent graduates (67 percent of four-year public institution alumni) considered a major with a restriction to entry, but only 50 percent were ultimately admitted into a restricted major. 🎒 Restrictions on majors impact some students more than others. Black graduates (27 percent) and first-generation graduates (22 percent) were more likely to have not pursued restricted majors in which they were interested, compared to an overall average of 17 percent. 📝 The most common restrictions recent graduates experienced when selecting their field of study were academic performance thresholds. These included overall GPA thresholds (42 percent), or departmental GPA thresholds (33 percent), and test score requirements (29 percent). Read more: https://lnkd.in/e-FJ6u5E