Inside 2025: A Year of Urgency and the Wins That Mattered Most

• We defended the U.S. Department of Education, documenting in a special resource collection the irreparable damage that would and will occur through its dismantlement.
• We explained how the policies of President Trump’s first 100 days fail workers during a panel event featuring labor leaders and members of Congress.
• We exposed DOGE’s inflated claims of $900 million in alleged “waste” within the U.S. Department of Education, sparking national scrutiny and notable coverage in USA Today.
• We published analyses of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act within a day of its passage, emphasizing how cuts to Medicaid endanger students with disabilities and jeopardize critical school funding.
• We disseminated an original analysis of the president's $6.8 billion school-funding freeze, drawing dozens of citations in national news outlets across the country.
  • Track the time between our exclusive district-by-district reporting and the full policy reversal and restoration of withheld funds.

• We advocated for stronger federal support for community colleges and evidence-based student success strategies that build pathways to the middle class for low-income learners.
• We shaped the national debate on college costs, accountability, and the essential role of a strong, intact U.S. Department of Education.
• We briefed lawmakers on the importance of appropriating full funding for the National Science Foundation during two bipartisan events on Capitol Hill.
• We crafted the principles reflected in the reauthorization of the Pay Teachers Act, legislation that guarantees a minimum salary for public school teachers.
• We warned that moving career and technical education (CTE) programs to the U.S. Department of Labor would jeopardize recent gains in CTE program quality—and would confuse almost everyone involved.
  • Review this letter Senate Democrats sent to Education Secretary Linda McMahon that cites our expert testimony and calls on her to “immediately reverse course.”

• We helped define a new vision for high-quality preschool curriculum at the National Academies’ Leadership Exchange.
• We urged Illinois to expand access to early intervention services for NICU babies so families can secure the support necessary for a strong start.
  • Consider how this new law in Illinois, passed within months of our advocacy, will connect more infants to life-changing therapies.

• We co-developed a model English learner policy for school boards, which Georgia’s largest school is considering adopting to support their 30,000 English learners.
• We convened 23 research groups to develop the Six-Strand Strategy for Educator Excellence, a national guide to comprehensively strengthen the teacher workforce and reduce teacher shortages.
• We designed family engagement tools for three Pennsylvania elementary schools, including interactive maps and a new family ambassador program.
  • Discover how building each low-cost tool built trust between caregivers and educators in the Keystone State.

• We established a new cross-state Community of Practice to drive sustainable investment in college and career pathways for youth.
• We co-hosted 350 attendees at the National Youth Apprenticeship Summit, an annual conference for advocates and practitioners who connect high-school-aged youth to high-quality apprenticeship opportunities.
• We showcased current and former youth apprentices from around the country during a symposium facilitated by our PAYA Youth Council.
  • Learn how to design “The Blueprint of Youth Apprenticeships, According to Youth Apprentices.”

• We exposed the “ugly truth” about the beauty school industry, investigating predatory systems that prioritize profit over the education and the career growth of students.
• We organized a press briefing to inform reporters about the looming “default cliff” and answer questions about the current state of the student loan system.
• We testified before the Minnesota Senate’s Committee on Higher Education, helping advance landmark legislation to make financial aid offers easier for students to understand and compare.
• We released new nationally representative data in the ninth edition of Varying Degrees, our flagship survey that analyzes public opinion on the value of education after high school.
  • Revisit our release event that featured researchers, college presidents, and the tenth U.S. Secretary of Education.

• We connected student parents with journalists reporting on the U.S. Department of Education’s plan to withhold funding for the CCAMPIS program, which funds campus-based child care.
• We developed a practice guide and state and federal policy recommendations to help colleges support child care for student parents.
• We uncovered the effects of eviction on parenting students and detailed how better public policy can address student basic needs.
  • Catch our podcast that dives deeper into these datasets.

• We brought new insights on youth apprenticeships, ed tech for young children, and college student work models to the innovative SXSW EDU community.
• We investigated the secretive enrollment management industry, prompting federal lawmakers to open their own investigations into the major firms higher education institutions use to set discriminatory tuition rates.
• We built a data tool that redraws school district boundaries to reduce racial segregation for students and significantly cut tax-base inequality for communities.
  • Watch our short walkthrough video to see what new, fairer lines would mean for your state and school community.

• We coordinated with 30 national and state organizations to respond to looming threats for multilingual learners, like the potential elimination of Title III funding.
• We hosted a forum event to celebrate 35 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act and to push for stronger, disability-informed policy in all advocacy efforts.
• We launched the National Commission on Learning Ecosystems, a new mutli-year project that will strengthen connections across schools, libraries, museums, and youth learning environments.
• We brought together community college partners focused on capacity-building for emerging tech sectors and developing industries.
• We analyzed the current digital literacy landscape, identifying where instruction is available and analyzing how America is prepping students for the age of AI.
  • Explore how AI can “change the game” for learners with disabilities in a special article published in New America’s digital magazine, The Thread.

In addition to the activities of the program, many New Americans on our teams have had noteworthy years themselves:

• Sarah Carr wrote an article for The Hechinger Report that led directly to a new state policy that connects more NICU infants in Illinois to federally mandated services.
• Lisa Guernsey commemorated the 10th anniversary of her ambitious book project, Tap, Click, Read: Growing Readers in a World of Screens, and facilitated formal discussions with designers of the next decade of literacy innovations.
• Taylor White joined a National Governors Association delegation to Switzerland to study the country’s education and apprenticeship system.
• Shalin Jyotish was appointed to the Workers & Workforce committee of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on the American Workforce.
• Adam Harris authored op-eds in The Guardian and The New York Times that responded to unfolding news and unpacked historical and political context.
• Kevin Carey published expert commentary in Vox, USA Today, and The Atlantic related to President Trump’s many attacks on education systems.
  

And we celebrated our 25th year incubating ideas, policies, and solutions for the “new America!”