Untapped Potential Project

A new, in-depth reporting project finds that most of the students in lower-level CTE offerings are kids of color, while those in the more promising career-oriented STEM classes are primarily white kids. This has to stop, says UP2's Jason Gaulden.

Racial tracking within Career and Technical Education must stop A new, in-depth reporting project finds that most of the students in lower-level CTE offerings are kids of color, while those in the more promising career-oriented STEM classes are primarily white kids. This has to stop.

A new national study validates everything we are striving for at UP2. Read it now!

New FAME report shows us that the bright future is now This is where we are going: Five years after completing the FAME program, graduates’ median earnings were nearly $98,000 -- $45,000 a year more than the earnings of other career and technical education graduates from the same colleges.

Let’s seize the moment and make sure that a typical day in a typical high school no longer consists of six or seven hours trapped in the often suffocating confines of a classroom. Let’s take down the walls that define and constrain schools and open students to experiences the world has to offer. The latest from Jason Gaulden:

Seize the moment to revolutionize high school Let’s seize the moment and make sure that a typical day in a typical high school no longer consists of six or seven hours trapped in the often suffocating confines of a classroom. Let’s take down the walls that define and constrain schools and open students to experiences the world has to offer.

There’s no way to sugarcoat this: As long as schools are fully or partially shuttered, all of the opportunity gaps that plague us will widen, and the students who most need hands-on, individualized attention will suffer most.

Can hands-on CTE work online? It depends. There’s no way to sugarcoat this: As long as schools are fully or partially shuttered, all of the opportunity gaps that plague us will widen, and the students who most need hands-on, individualized attention will suffer most.

One of the primary purposes of high school over the past century has been to help young people build relationships that help accumulate social capital. On one level, schools have done this well. But on another, they have failed too many of their students.

The importance of ‘bridging social capital’ One of the primary purposes of high school over the past century has been to help young people build relationships that help accumulate social capital. On one level, schools have done this well. But on another, they have failed too many of their students.

Ranken, a private, nonprofit degree-granting institution of higher learning, has been educating young adults from across the country at its St. Louis campus for more than a century.

Ranken ranks among the best Ranken, a private, nonprofit degree-granting institution of higher learning, has been educating young adults from across the country at its St. Louis campus for more than a century. Recently, it opened a second campus in Wentzville, Mo., 40 miles northwest of St. Louis. Now, Ranken is preparing to l...

The social and economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus has given us a once-in-a-century opportunity to make a great leap forward in how we prepare people for the world of work. Read Jason Gaulden's take on how to make this happen.

The Lemonade Crisis and Opportunity The rapid change is leading to mounting demands — including from typically opposing groups, like Republicans and Democrats, and business executives and labor leaders — for training programs for millions of workers. On their own, some of the proposals are modest.

At the Untapped Potential Project, we are committed to bringing back the 21st Century equivalent of shop class, but on a much grander scale.

Bringing back shop class and closing skills gaps While Career and Technical Education has made something of a comeback, at least in parts of the country, it still lags woefully behind demand for training for skilled, well-paying jobs.

Our board chair is modest, but we're going to brag about her anyway.

Meet UPP’s extraordinary board chair Karin Norington-Reaves is UPP's board chair. Let this post serve as a brief introduction to this extraordinary woman.

See this post from Jason Gaulden on an inspiring school leader of color!

The inspiring leader of a mold-breaking school Kayon Pryce is the inspirational leader of Brooklyn STEAM Center, one of the most cutting edge educational programs in the country.