Stand Together

“The safest communities don’t give up on young people. They invest in what they can become.”   Café Momentum shows what that looks like in practice. By combining paid employment, education support, coaching, mental health services, and long-term mentorship, the organization helps justice-involved young people build the skills, relationships, and opportunities they need to move forward.   The lesson is bigger than one organization: public safety and opportunity are not competing goals. When communities invest in young people, everyone benefits.   Read our latest #OurTake: https://lnkd.in/eV2bgt3R

Ed Foster-Simeon, president and CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, has watched the youth mental health crisis firsthand: two-thirds of coaches have seen an athlete struggling, yet only 18% feel prepared to help. His answer starts with the coaches already on the field. Yes, Coach! is an evidence-based program for coaches, equipping them with the skills to recognize when a child needs support and connect families with the impactful resources.

Back-to-school looks different depending on where you are. A West Virginia high schooler who graduated as a registered nurse. A Denver microschool where students spend 80% of the year outside. A family who crossed state lines to find the school their daughter's local district couldn't be. These are three education models rewriting what's possible — and the Stand Together community is proud to support the innovators making them happen.

Every young person needs a trusted adult. Coaches can be part of the solution. Yet just 18% of coaches feel ready to help a young athlete facing a mental health challenge. Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, has a plan to close that gap with the people already on the sideline. Through the national, evidence-based program, Yes, Coach!, coaches can be equipped to recognize when a child may need help, provide support, and guide families toward professional resources when necessary.

Educators screened Young Washington at Mount Vernon and met a version of the founding father students have never seen — proof that the past can still speak to each of us. "This film can inspire a new generation of civic engagement," said Liz Prosch, Educational Engagement Specialist at the Wonder Project, on the partnership with the Bill of Rights Institute that built classroom curriculum around the film. Stand Together supported the work alongside Wonder Project, Angel, George Washington's Mount Vernon, and the Daniels Fund. #YoungWashington

23,000 parents. 50 states. 1 clear message = it’s time to expand America's education options. 50CAN: The 50-State Campaign for Achievement Now recently released one of the largest parent surveys of its kind on the state of educational opportunity in the country, and the findings are impressive: ➡️ Over 77% of parents favor open enrollment and Education Savings Accounts ➡️ 69% support vouchers ➡️ 68% favor charter schools In our latest feature, CEO Marc Porter Magee unpacks the survey and what this can mean for policymakers and parents alike. Read more about the full report: https://bit.ly/4hqze2m

Most educators worry AI undermines critical thinking. Stand Together backed a school, Vita High School, betting the opposite: that AI, used with nuance, helps students find purpose instead of shortcutting the search for it. Read the full story at: https://bit.ly/4598jAB

Before he was the father of a nation, George Washington was a young man learning to lead. Young Washington is less about history than about each of us — anyone who's chased something bigger than themselves and kept going through failure to get there. That's why Stand Together supported the film alongside Wonder Project, Angel, George Washington's Mount Vernon, the Daniels Fund and the Bill of Rights Institute, who built the classroom curriculum bringing the story to students nationwide. In theaters now. #YoungWashington

Most kids feel like robots going through the motions in school — because they never get the chance to figure out who they are. Rio Wiley Stinger, M.Ed. and Andrew Lee, M.Ed. built DreamBuilder AI to change that: a tool that takes students from knowing nothing about themselves to having a roadmap for their dream life.

AI can replace critical thinking — founder of AI Montessori high school Vita High School, Andrew Lee, M.Ed. says so himself. But he and co-founder Rio Wiley Stinger, M.Ed. think there's a much bigger problem in education: a one-size-fits-all system that doesn't speak to who students are or where they want to go: