Blog
Impact Series: Goodwill’s 2Gen High Schools Lead to Increased Wages
This blog is part of Ascend’s Impact Series: monthly stories and stats that illustrate the powerful, tangible impact a two-generation (2Gen) approach can have in building prosperity and opportunity for families. According to the Census Bureau, 32 million adults in the U.S. currently lack a high school diploma, with those who are parents having 10 million children. The Excel Center,…
Announcing: 2019-20 Ascend Impact Series
We are proud to announce the Ascend Impact Series: monthly stories and stats that illustrate the powerful, tangible impact a two-generation (2Gen) approach can have in building prosperity and opportunity for families. These stories and quantitative proof points will contribute to the growing 2Gen evidence base, including recent research on CAP Tulsa, which found that the 2Gen program CareerAdvance® reduces chronic absence…
Unlocking the Power of Parenting: Opportunities from the LEGO Idea Conference
“All parents want what’s best for their children. How do we close the gap for low-income parents to ensure they have the same opportunity and resources as other families in achieving those goals?” Ariel Kalil, Ascend Fellow and Speaker, 2019 LEGO Idea Conference Earlier this month I flew to Billund, Denmark (population: just over 6,000)…
New Fact Sheet and Mental Health Brief: Understanding and Supporting Student Parents
With 22 percent of the undergraduate student population comprised of parents with children, policymakers and institutions must explore the unique needs of this population and address the challenges that may prevent parents from attaining their degree. This includes determining what systems, services, and approaches best support their mental health needs. As part of the Aspen Postsecondary…
Social Capital Leads to Postsecondary Innovation
A “Basic Principles of Business Administration” textbook open on the table, a curious toddler – with a newfound interest in insects – in her lap, and a community of Parent Advisors supporting her education goals. This was the pathway to postsecondary inclusion and success envisioned by Ascend with the launch of the Aspen Postsecondary Success for Parents (PSP) Initiative on November 1, 2018: students who are parents supported…
The Power of Families to Dismantle Poverty
My big idea for children and families in this 2Gen space is to not diminish, not to minimize, not to reduce, not to disrupt poverty, but to dismantle it. If you think about a drug organization, if the police simply come and disrupt them, they just reassemble someplace else. So we want to dismantle that…