About Ford Next Generation Learning
Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL) partners with communities to transform systems so all young people graduate truly life ready, prepared to navigate a rapidly changing world with purpose, adaptability, and confidence.
Together, we mobilize educators, employers, and community leaders to prepare a diverse generation of young people who can adapt, make informed decisions, and pursue evolving opportunities, equipped not just for their first step after high school, but for a lifetime of transitions, challenges, and growth.
For more than 25 years, Ford NGL has helped communities align education, workforce, and civic systems to create more connected and equitable opportunities for young people. As technology and AI continue to reshape the future, our work goes beyond preparing students for college or careers—we focus on building the skills, relationships, and agency young people need to define and navigate a life of their own choosing.
Our Approach: Community Connected®
Community Connected® is our proven approach to aligning education, workforce, and community systems—ensuring that strategies are grounded in real labor market demand and connected to real-world experiences.
At the core of this approach is our three-strand framework, which brings together:
- Transforming Teaching & Learning
- Transforming the Culture, Systems, & Structures of Schools
- Transforming Partnerships Between Schools & Community
These strands are intentionally interconnected and applied together—because lasting change happens when learning, systems, and partnerships are aligned around young people and the realities of their futures.
The Ford NGL Framework
- Student-Centered, Community Connected Inquiry
- Real-World, Future-Ready Experiences
- Value-Added Assets for College, Career, and Life
- Interdisciplinary Educator Collaboration
- Student Agency, Voice and Leadership
- Academy Structure for Student Belonging
- Education, Training, and Support for Educators
- Aligned and Supportive District Policies, Practices and Infrastructure
- Data Systems for Continuous Improvement
- Community Connected Governance
- Community Connected, Powerful Partnership System
- Future-Ready, Workforce-Aligned Pathways
- Authentic Family Engagement
- Branding, Communications, and Storytelling
How We Work with Communities
We deliver this work through three core services, offering communities targeted or comprehensive ways to engage based on their goals and readiness:
- Community Connected Transformation – a comprehensive, system-wide partnership to design and implement aligned, sustainable systems
- Community Connected Pathway Accelerator – a targeted approach to advancing high-quality, career-connected pathways and academies
- Powerful Partnerships – building and strengthening the relationships that connect education, workforce, and community
Whether communities engage in targeted work or full system transformation, all services are grounded in our Community Connected® approach and three-strand framework—ensuring alignment across teaching and learning, systems, and partnerships.