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Press Release

Sep 23, 2026

10 Recommendations and 100 Promising Practices to Improve Education and Workforce Readiness

The Academy's cross-disciplinary, cross-country Commission on Opportunities After High School issued a publication outlining 10 concrete recommendations for state and local policymakers, K-12 and postsecondary education leaders, and employers to help learners pursue their goals and thrive. The Commission also released an online resource featuring a map with more than 100 local and regional initiatives aligning resources and coordinating opportunities in school, service, and work. These promising practices show there are existing solutions that meet challenges and can be tailored and replicated across the country.

View from above of people at a table reading and writing.

Academy Article

Sep 8, 2026

Enrollment Data Signal More Humanities Degree Declines Ahead

Enrollment data from the National Student Clearinghouse indicates that recent declines in humanities majors are likely to continue, as the number of students working toward a bachelor’s degree in the humanities (as their first major) fell every year from 2015 to 2025—and the rate of decline has accelerated since the COVID pandemic.

Student mechanic working on airplane in Williamsport, PA.

Press Release

September 1, 2026

Absence and Opportunity: New Academy Report on Working Class Candidates

More than half of the U.S. labor force are working class, yet there is a near-absence of elected officials from working-class occupations in elected office. What are the implications for democracy and representation? How can the barriers to public service be understood and overcome? This publications offers answers these questions.

Bulletin

Summer 2026

Why Do Artists Create? A Morton Mandel Conversation

Deborah Rutter moderated a conversation with jazz pianist and jazz studies faculty Jason Moran (New England Conservatory of Music) and author and professor Viet Thanh Nguyen (University of Southern California). They discussed the challenges of producing art in the United States today and the power the arts have in helping us imagine and connect to our past, present, and future.