Posts By: Nicole Hall

Responding to a Rapidly-Changing Economy: Per Scholas on Agile Workforce Development Approaches

As technology reshapes nearly every sector of our economy, our nation’s public workforce development systems have struggled to keep pace. Per Scholas, one of the nation’s leading evidence-based sectoral job training providers, demonstrates how a responsive, partnership-centered approach can drive strong outcomes for learners – and how public policy could accelerate the development, refinement, and expansion of high-impact programs around
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Due April 3, 2026: Sectoral Training Provider Applications for Blazing a Trail Initiative

Beginning this spring, and continuing through the end of 2027, America Forward is excited to partner with a pilot cohort of up to eight (8) leading high-impact sectoral training providers to shift public investment toward evidence-based programs and build providers’ capacity to navigate and participate in public funding systems. America Forward is grateful to Ascendium Education Group for their investment
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Measuring What Matters: How Complementary Growth Indicators Can Transform K-12 Education

By Jessica Paulsen, President, Innovation & Impact, LEAP Innovations As schools nationwide work to accelerate student learning and close persistent achievement gaps, policymakers are taking a closer look at how we measure student growth — and whether current approaches give educators and families the actionable information they need. When Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
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What It Actually Takes: Project QUEST on Workforce Development That Works

Photo: Francisco Martinez, President & CEO of Project QUEST, and Lelani Mercado, Chief Program Officer of Project QUEST with a December 2025 graduate. Across the United States, communities are searching for workforce solutions that deliver real, lasting economic mobility, not just short-term job placements. In San Antonio, Texas, one model has been proving what works for more than three decades:
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