Dear Colleagues and Friends:

#GivingTuesday is here! We know it’s been a tough couple of months but we’re excited to participate in this inspiring day of giving back. We hope that you’ll join in supporting the important work we are doing to prepare youth for success in both college AND career.

ConnectED exists to help schools and districts tackle a large, systemic problem: across the US, a staggering number of students–nearly one third–leave high school without the skills necessary to succeed in college, participate in the needs of a rapidly changing 21st century workforce and earn sustainable living wages. Even more, those students already furthest from opportunity run the risk of being further marginalized in their adult lives without educational approaches that foster their sense of agency and hope.

The last 8 months have created historic challenges for educators. We at ConnectED have worked with our partner school districts to adapt on-the-fly and develop innovative virtual approaches to college and career pathways. We have been inspired by what we’ve seen and are committed to supporting our partners through this crisis, and beyond.

For more than a decade, The James Irvine Foundation generously funded ConnectED, and we are deeply grateful for that support. However, that support ended three years ago, as the Foundation turned its attention to new initiatives. As you can imagine, districts need our help more than ever and are simultaneously facing unprecedented budget shortfalls, constricting funds to support this work. To continue our work with districts, schools, teachers, and students, we need your help.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

With gratitude,

ConnectED