ASA is a Proud Sponsor of the LearnLaunch Innovation Summit 2022

Summary

American Student Assistance (ASA) is a proud sponsor and content thought partner of the 2022 LearnLaunch Innovation Summit. The event is organized by the LearnLaunch Institute, a Boston-based nonprofit organization which works at the intersection of policy, practice, and innovation to serve the education ecosystem in the New England region. Over the last two years, LearnLaunch has supported over 3,300 educators representing 78% of Massachusetts districts and 67% of high needs districts through its free Building Blocks Workshops. This year’s Summit will draw 1400 students, education leaders, education practitioners and policy leaders as well as local, state, and national thought leaders.

Thought Leadership Panel Sessions:

The Summit will feature six ASA-curated and organized panel discussions featuring experts from across the education and career readiness ecosystems. The conversations will focus on topics including the future of career readiness, the reframing of intentional pathways for high school students, addressing students’ unequal access to social networks, building widespread acceptance for all postsecondary education-to-career learning pathways, best practices for increasing access to high school work-based learning, and an educator’s guide to implementing career learning in the classroom.

Session Details:

The Future of Career Readiness: In and Out of the Classroom

Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 10:10AM – 10:55AM EST | 521 Room B

Only 57% of today’s learners believe that our school systems have successfully prepared them for careers. But with ever competing priorities, many school systems simply can’t take on one more task to work career education into the school day. The results? Students do not have equitable access to the information they need to make informed career and postsecondary education plans. Panelists will discuss two promising career learning models that aim to either change education systems or take this learning outside the classroom.

Moderator:

Jamie Candee CEO, Edmentum

Panelists:

Jean Eddy CEO American Student Assistance (ASA)

Gautam Bhargava Co-Founder & CEO, Ender

Karen Crebase Superintendent, Hopedale Public Schools, & President, Blackstone Valley Superintendents’ Consortium

Daquan Oliver Founder & CEO, WeThrive

Reframing Intentional Pathways for High School Students

Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 1:30PM – 2:15PM EST | 521 Room B

For 120 years, success in secondary and postsecondary learning has been communicated as a list of courses and grades. The rapid adoption of skills-based hiring over the last three years marks the beginning of the end of the Carnegie Unit as the primary signaling device for talent transactions. Times have changed and yet we have not substantially rethought how the structure of our education should work to best serve students and long-term career goals. Join panelists as they discuss what it would take to reframe how an entire educational ecosystem thinks about intentional pathways.

Moderator:

Tom VanderArk CEO, Getting Smart

Panelists:

Katie Jenner Secretary of Education, Indiana

Melo Yap Curriculum Development Manager, Hack the Hood

Paul Herdman CEO, Rodel Education Foundation of Delaware

Mark Estrada Vice President, Talent Acquisition, Berkshire Bank

Addressing Students’ Unequal Access to Social Networks

Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 1:30PM – 2:15PM EST | 521 Room D

Relationships matter. Who students know during middle school shapes their sense of future possible selves into adulthood. Schools that equitably integrate family members, community members, and industry experts into classrooms have immense potential to spark relevance and expand students’ long-term career horizons. In this session, participants will learn about evidence-based practices and emerging tools that put broad and diverse networks within reach for their students.

Moderator:

Julia Freeland Fisher Clayton Christensen Institute

Panelists:

David Shapiro CEO, MENTOR National

Sabari Raja Co-Founder & CEO, Nepris, Inc.

Sarah Hemminger Co-Founder & CEO, Thread.org

Glenn Manning Senior Project Manager, Caring Schools, Making Caring Common, Harvard University

Traditional College Isn’t The Only Path: Building Acceptance for All Learning Options

Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 2:25PM – 3:10PM EST | 521 Room B

Expanding education-to-career opportunities for young people isn’t radical work. It’s catching up to meet the needs of a new generation, a modern workforce, and a rapidly changing economy. Many of today’s challenges—skills gaps, rising student debt, and even the “Great Resignation”—stem from an outdated mindset that positions college as the only path to success. The traditional school-to-college-to-job path has worked for some, but many young people are looking for pathways that better suit their needs and aspirations. And, the riskiest approach for employers is to maintain the status quo. By supporting programs and opportunities that expand talent pipelines, we can build a diverse, loyal, and prepared workforce that is future-ready. Come hear about these opportunities from the employer perspective.

Moderator:

Julie Lammers SVP of Advocacy & Corporate Social Responsibility, American Student Assistance (ASA)

Panelists:

Aisha Francis Ph.D. President & CEO, Ben Franklin Cummings Institute in Boston

Alex Swartsel Deputy Director of Acceleration, JFFLabs

Ed M. Lambert Jr. Executive Director, Mass. Business Alliance of Education (MBAE)

Paymon Rouhanifard Co-Founder & CEO, Propel America

An Educator’s Guide to Implementing Career Learning in the Classroom

Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 2:25PM – 3:10PM EST | 521 Room D

A new digital playbook, “The Career Exploration in the Middle Grades: A Playbook for Educators,” is the first of its kind. Outlining evidence-based best practices for successfully implementing career exploration with students aged 10-15, this playbook provides a beginning framework for a variety of career exploration programs, complete with implementation guides and case studies from schools around the United States. Panelists will discuss a whole school and a STEM/student-centered model, in addition to the importance of community engagement.

Moderator:

Stephanie Simpson CEO, Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)

Panelists:

Michael Rubin Principal, Uxbridge High School

Vanessa Haerle STEM Teacher, Sutton Middle School

Jay Galbraith Director of Academics for Innovation and Technology, KIPP Massachusetts Public Charter Schools

Dave Quinn Director of Technology Integration, Mendon-Upton Regional School District

Building Workforce Readiness: High School Work-based Learning

Thursday, June 23, 2022 | 3:30PM – 4:15PM EST | 521 Room B

Formal work-based learning opportunities, such as apprenticeships, internships, cooperative education, entrepreneurial experiences, practicums, service learning and project-based learning, have traditionally been reserved for college students and are rarely associated with the high school student. When 79% of high school students say they are interested in a work-based learning experience, why have only 2% completed an internship during high school?

Join panelists in a discussion on the pros and best practices in overcoming the barriers to providing critical experiential learning experiences to high schoolers.

Moderator:

Julie Lammers SVP of Advocacy & Corporate Social Responsibility, American Student Assistance (ASA)

Panelists:

Pam Gordon Internship Programs and ImBlaze Implementation Coach, Big Picture Learning

Nina Pande Executive Director, Skills for Rhode Island’s Future

Letta Neely Associate Director of Programs, Apprentice Learning

Bob LePage Assistant Secretary for Career Education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts