The Walton Family Foundation has announced investments totaling $20 million in support of efforts to give students quality learning opportunities connected to future work.

The grants will support integrated approaches across K-12 schools, higher education institutions, and employers to career-connected learning, a study-and-work approach that more directly links education to jobs and optimizes the transition between school and work. Recipients include CityWorks in Washington, D.C., and EmployIndy in Indianapolis, which will launch new programs and boost cross-sector coordination; New America's Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship, which aims to elevate promising practices in states and cities; the Catalyze Challenge, which will scale a wide range of ideas related to career-connected learning; and Urban Alliance, which is working directly with employers to increase their participation in career pathways work.

"Unleashing the potential of every young person means having pathways for students to connect with and develop their passions and interests earlier on and more meaningfully," said Romy Drucker, interim director of the Walton Family Foundation's K-12 Education program. "We are thrilled to be supporting innovative and collaborative organizations that are transforming the approaches and platforms that help students navigate into meaningful careers that bring them economic security and a sense of fulfillment."

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