Generation Next

It's at StriveTogether, and we wanted to share a recent data board from our 2026 Annual Event! Our Pathways to Prosperity board illuminates the pathways of students from low-income households (eligible for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch in K-12).

By bringing data across systems into one shared picture, we are making the invisible visible – identifying which students are not experiencing success, where inequities are most concentrated, and what conditions are holding young people back. Through our partnership with the Minnesota Statewide Longitudinal Education
Data System (SLEDS), we are able to see a clear and measurable picture of our collective impact and the work still ahead. Generation Next is in a unique position where we can see ALL students across all systems and sectors in Minneapolis and Saint Paul!

Check it out at the link below:https://gennextmsp.org/wp-content/uploads/GenerationNextPathwaystoProsperity.pdf

It's at StriveTogether!

At the time of its founding, Spartanburg Academic Movement operated in a community where only 19% of residents held a four-year degree. Today, that community is rewriting its story — and showing what’s possible when systems move together.

Through Movement 2030, SAM and more than 30 partners are aligned around a countywide plan to ensure 70% of high school graduates enroll in postsecondary education and 1,000 additional degrees and credentials are completed each year by 2030.

Here’s what that looks like in practice:

As members of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, we’re proud to be part of a national movement building the systems that connect more people to postsecondary credentials and quality careers — because opportunity after high school should be the expectation, not the exception.

Read the full case study to see how aligned systems are helping more students and adults access economic opportunity in Spartanburg:

Empowering Economic Mobility Through Postsecondary Success - StriveTogether National Background Across the country, education beyond high school remains one of the strongest predictors of lifetime earnings and stability. Adults with a bachelor’s degree earn, on average, 67% more than those with only a high school diploma. Even some college without a credential yields limi...

June is month at StriveTogether!

A purposeful pathway is more than a plan — it's a connected, well-designed system that supports young people from high school graduation through credential completion and into employment with family-sustaining wages.

And right now, too many students are navigating that journey alone.

By 2031, 72% of all jobs will require some form of postsecondary education or credential. Yet nearly 40% of first-time undergraduates don't complete a degree within eight years. And nearly half of Gen Z students say they lack confidence in their postsecondary plans.

Students aren't failing the system. The system isn't connecting the dots for them.

When K–12, higher education, employers and community partners work together around shared data and shared goals, more students graduate knowing where they're going and how to get there.

As a member of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network, we're committed to building those systems in our community.

📘 Learn more about why purposeful pathways matter and what it takes to build them:

Why Purposeful Pathways Matter - StriveTogether Every student deserves a clear path forward. Too often, they are navigating their future without a trusted guide or the real-world experience to match. According to ECMC Group’s pulse survey, 78% of Gen Z students said they want to determine their career plans before graduating. Only 13% fee...