2024 is a year for action, opportunity, and putting the next generation first

I hope this message finds you well after a restful holiday break and a productive start to the year. At the Alliance, we enter 2024 with fresh hope and determination. As always, we’re firmly dedicated to making sure more young people connect their passions to their purpose, their purpose to their power. This year, with new energy, resources, and connections in place, our field is positioned to realize ambitious, necessary goals for a more prosperous, equitable future.

Here's what I mean:

California is showing up for adolescents through the Golden State Pathways Program

It’s hard to overstate the opportunity and importance of the $500M Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP), which goes live in 2024. This program intends to expand the number of high-quality, integrated college and career pathways across the state, which will be life-changing for young people and our communities. Linked Learning is part of this vision for preparing young people to thrive in high-wage, high-growth fields. Breaking down silos and achieving coherence across systems will be critical to success. As regions begin to implement, braid funding, and build connected and supportive learning experiences, the Alliance is here to lend support and insight in any way we can.

Pathmakers are coming together at the Linked Learning Conference

As we work together to make the most of California’s historic investments in young people, our annual conference, held in Los Angeles this spring, will bring together thought leaders and practitioners, including K–12 and postsecondary education, industry, and community members from across California and beyond, who will move the GSPP forward. Equally important, the conference will offer time for us all to actively connect that vision with aligned statewide investments that when taken together can amplify the benefits for adolescents—community schools, dual enrollment, apprenticeship and behavioral health. In tune with GSPP goals, this year’s conference is about path-making strategies to transform our education systems, meaningfully engage young people, and develop the workforce of the future. Registration is open now—we hope to see you April 8–11, 2024.

We’re approaching one million young people in Certified Linked Learning pathways

All of this drives toward (and is advanced by) a goal the Alliance has pursued with great focus in recent years: We want to see one million young people in Certified Linked Learning pathways because the certification process is the best way to ensure that Linked Learning is applied with fidelity to the standards research links with student achievement, attainment, and readiness for college and career. Quality matters to our success with GSPP and our responsibility to the next generation. We are thrilled to see a surge of interest in the certification journey.

With uncommon opportunity ahead, it is more important than ever to keep working together as a field. As a collective, our strength, our experience, our capacity for expanding excellence and equity in education at every level is profound.

Thank you for your part in this extraordinary movement—and Happy New Year!