Webinar Recap: Insights & Learnings from the Catalyze Community of Practice

Catalyze’s recent webinar Insights and Learnings from the Catalyze Community of Practice brought together leaders from CUNY, New Bridge Cleveland and nXu for an engaging conversation about social capital and a holistic approach to career-connected learning. Plus, panelists shared how being a part of a collective community of practitioners continues to help drive their organizational missions forward.

Building Social Capital

All three organizations engage local businesses, educators and community leaders to build networks that demonstrate to learners what is possible for them on their unique career journeys.

These strong networks help learners develop social capital by establishing trust, reciprocity and mutual support. For example, youth programming at NewBridge connects students to hospitals, allowing them to build social capital within their local healthcare community.

“One of the ways that we approach social capital is by building the relationship with not just the student, but also their parents, grandparents, educators, teachers, and their principals,” said Bethany Friedlander, president and CEO of NewBridge Cleveland. “And as we get closer to 9th or 10th grade, they are given opportunities to do fantastic, exciting things in the hospitals.”

A Holistic Approach

Wraparound support services can serve as a strong foundation for students navigating their career choices. CUNY connects the dots for historically underserved students who are unsure about how to get from point A to point B in their career journey.

“Multiple times youth did not know what it would look like to find jobs or to make [their] way into college, or faced myriad challenges on the way,” said Michael Rothman, senior director at CUNY’s Office of K16 Initiatives. “We provide support alongside high school and college counselors and work sites to better serve our students.”

To ensure an effective holistic approach, nXu intentionally integrates social capital, purpose development, durable skills development, and well-being. Yutaka Tamura, founder and executive director, said that the team developed a CASEL-approved curriculum that incorporates these four constructs. More recently, they have developed a screener that allows schools to monitor students’ well-being, essential for their engagement.

A Community of Practice Fostering Partnerships and Collaboration

As Catalyze grantees, practitioners have access to a built-in network of collaborators who they can talk to, learn from, share new ideas with and even build cross-program relationships — such as the partnership between NewBridge and nXu.

“We have the benefit of learning from nXu partners across 20-plus states who have adopted our curriculum, and thanks to Catalyze and several other initiatives, we’ve also been able to learn from the growing number of career-connected learning programs and models across the country,” said Tamura.

The discussion went on to highlight how strong partnerships between schools and real-world work also create an enriching experience for students. Across all three programs, students have had the opportunity to learn about and connect with hospitals, tech companies, culinary programs, and even minor-league baseball teams.

As career-connected learning evolves, innovative partnerships and purpose-driven learning will remain at the heart of impactful programs. The examples and strategies from this webinar highlight how we can guide students in their career exploration journeys, equipping them with agency, valuable skills and confidence. Watch the full webinar below: