Dear friends and colleagues,

We have exciting news to share! As you may have noticed while reading this message, ConnectED has a new brand, visual identity, and name.

While we continue to grow our California roots, we are branching out to support a greater number of students as ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career. Our new tagline, Make Potential Exponential, speaks to this growth, and reaffirms our commitment to equity and helping all young people realize their full potential. We’re so pleased to be able to share our new website which delivers the tools, resources, and expertise that we heard from many of our stakeholders will be critical to making progress in this very challenging work.

The work ConnectED does, and has always done, is based on long-term partnerships with you: our dedicated school district leaders, educators, students, businesses, funders, collaborating organizations, and communities. Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or you’re a new partner; whether you’re a superintendent or a parent, you’re in this work with us because, despite the skepticism some people have that the public education system can’t be changed – together, we are changing it.

Beginning with demonstrating Linked Learning in nine districts in California, and now in many more across the country—we’ve seen that when students love what they’re learning, they work harder, dream bigger, and learn more. Throughout this journey, we’ve learned a great deal about what it takes to support districts in successfully implementing high-quality pathways, including:

  • Local context matters. No two districts in the country have identical needs, which is why we customize solutions to fit for local context.
  • This is not a siloed solution. To really work, the Linked Learning approach has to have buy-in at all levels, from Superintendent to teacher to community leader.
  • At its core, Linked Learning is an equity strategy. Linked Learning can help all students do better, but the current playing field is not equal. We need to stay focused on helping lift up students who have not had a fair shot.

There’s not an organization in the world that has the singular expertise or resources necessary to transform students’ lives and create equal opportunities. This is a collective, long-term effort. That’s why we invite you to continue to partner with us in making potential exponential.

Here are three ways you can do that:

  1. Share this post with one person you know who would benefit from learning about the real, rigorous approach we bring to learning and teaching.
  2. Check out our new website and sign up for our newsletter.
  3. Send us an email and tell us how ConnectED or the linked learning approach has made a difference in your life or for someone you know.

On behalf of the staff and board of ConnectED, thank you for being on this journey with us.

Gary Hoachlander

President
ConnectED: The National Center for College and Career