Dear Colleagues,
2020 was an important year for America’s Promise. Despite this being an exceptionally challenging time for young people, I have been deeply energized by the important role youth are playing in developing solutions to our country’s most pressing challenges. To effectively meet the demands of the current moment, America's Promise has worked to recommit to the core values that remain enduring principles of our work—centering the perspectives and experiences of young people and working collaboratively with all of you to make collective progress on systemic challenges.
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As the year draws to a close, I want to express our sincere gratitude for your collaboration and partnership. Despite its challenges, this year has had so many bright spots, which fuel within all of us at America’s Promise an enduring sense of optimism about what we can do when we work together, in partnership with each other and with young people.
Here are some of our favorite bright spots from 2020:
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Throughout 2020, we sharpened our focus on amplifying the perspectives and experiences of young people, particularly given the difficult social, economic, health, and educational challenges young people and their families have experienced this year. Through our Voices of Young People series, we heard from youth across the country and from various racial, ethnic, and geographic backgrounds about how their lives have been impacted by COVID-19 and the increasingly visible fight for racial justice. Young people also shared their stories—along with actionable recommendations for decision-makers—in a series of open letters. Check out #ListenToYouth on social media to join the conversation!
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The YES Project was proud to release new research focused on youth experiences navigating today’s employment landscape—particularly how young people describe feeling ready for, connected to, and supported within the world of work. To provide more color to these findings, we partnered with the Grads of Life platform at Forbes.com to elevate young people’s stories about finding, maintaining, and thriving at work amidst a devastating pandemic, an economic crisis, and a national reckoning with systemic racism.
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Graduation this year was different from any other. To show support for the Class of 2020, the GradNation campaign led the #Letters2Grads initiative, through which people from across the country submitted letters, photos, and messages of encouragement to graduating students. We also hosted a conversation, in partnership with the Alliance for Excellent Education, Civic and the Everyone Graduates Center, highlighting the voices of young people and three former U.S. Secretaries of Education: Margaret Spellings, Arne Duncan, and John B. King Jr. During this conversation, we learned about what the high school experience looks like now, and what that might mean for graduation rates now and in the future.
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The How Learning Happens team was proud to release a new suite of research highlighting young people’s perspectives of and experiences with social, emotional, and cognitive learning, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guiding this research were the lessons learned and youth-generated insights shared at the Growing the Whole Child Movement convening earlier this year, when we heard from youth and staff leaders of national and community organizations, schools and districts, state agencies, and philanthropic organizations about how their work in research, practice, communications, and policy is furthering a whole-child approach.
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2020 has reminded us that our mental and emotional wellbeing affects every aspect of our lives—including learning. Earlier this year, the Every School Healthy campaign released a new guide for practitioners to support the whole child through trauma-informed care. More recently, the Journal of School Health published insights from Every School Healthy’s effort to mobilize national organizations to support healthy, equitable school environments at the local level, along with case studies on the role that youth can play in guiding local healthy school and community efforts. This work and the work of our partners has drawn sharper attention to the reality that school environments can and must make every young person feel safe, seen, and supported.
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Through this year’s Power of Youth challenge, young people demonstrated once again that they are capable of leading the way in addressing the most pressing issues our communities face. This year we provided mini-grants to 150 young people who are planning and leading service projects in their communities. Grant winners ranged in age from 13 to 18; came from rural, urban, and suburban settings in 35 states; and represented a diversity of racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. From projects focused on supporting the elderly, like Dhruv’s, to those focused on the very young, we love watching young people make their communities better.
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Along with policies and practices, our narratives make a difference. The way we talk about young people, schools, and learning sends a message about what we value. This year, we released two new messaging tools—one focused on how learning happens, and the other focused on the high school experience. We also know that conversations matter and have released a new discussion guide focused on facilitating conversations with young people on topics that are top of mind this year—from systemic racism to mental health to online learning and more.
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| As we reflect on this year’s bright spots, we know that none of it would have been possible without your collaboration and support. On behalf of everyone at America’s Promise, we’re wishing you a safe and warm holiday season and a peaceful start to 2021! I look forward to what we’ll accomplish together next year and beyond.
In partnership,
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| America’s Promise Alliance is the driving force behind a nationwide movement to improve the lives and futures of America’s youth. If you would like to help make the promise of America real for every child, consider donating below.
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