Learn to Earn Dayton Awarded $1.5 Million to Bring More “Career Navigators" to Ohio High Schools

Three-year investment from Pathways Impact Fund will help Learn to Earn Dayton

expand in-school career guidance statewide

Learn to Earn Dayton today announced it has been awarded a $1.5 million grant by the Pathways Impact Fund, a national initiative of StriveTogether, to replicate its Pathways for Accelerated College and Career Experiences (PACCE) career-connected learning model statewide. This investment will increase the number of career navigators working in schools to connect students to high-quality advising, work-based learning, and dual enrollment opportunities aligned with in-demand careers.

"This isn’t about adding another program to schools. It's about realigning how schools, employers, and higher education work together to ensure that students have the skills—and connections—that they need to thrive as adults," said Stacy Schweikhart, CEO of Learn to Earn Dayton. "With dedicated career navigators coordinating these partnerships, students get the advising, work experiences, and college access they need. This investment from the Pathways Impact Fund will help us further demonstrate the effectiveness of the model across different Ohio communities and create the conditions for statewide adoption."

Learn to Earn Dayton plays a critical coordinating and convening role in Montgomery County and throughout Ohio, bridging gaps between schools, employers, higher education institutions, and community organizations to expand pathways for all students. With 60% of Ohio's in-demand occupations requiring a postsecondary certificate or degree, connecting partners to provide career-focused learning and credential opportunities for all students is essential to the state’s economic health.

The organization's PACCE framework is designed to reframe career-connected learning from a separate “track” or program, to a systemic approach that can be integrated throughout the student's school experience. Career navigators serve as the backbone of this model, administering evidence-based career assessments to help students identify interests and aptitudes, connecting students to pathway-aligned work-based learning experiences with local employers, and facilitating access to dual enrollment through Ohio's College Credit Plus program in high-growth industries.

With the backing of the Pathways Impact Fund, Learn to Earn Dayton aims to expand their career-connected learning model to serve Middletown City Schools and Springfield City Schools. They will also continue existing implementation sites in multiple districts throughout Ohio. Learn to Earn Dayton is also working in partnership with the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce and Ohio Excels to scale critical elements of the career-connected learning framework statewide by 2029. The Montgomery County Educational Service Center will serve as Learn to Earn Dayton’s strategic implementation partner.

“At the Montgomery County Educational Service Center, we are committed to ensuring that every student — regardless of their zip code — has access to meaningful career pathways and high-quality postsecondary opportunities,” said Montgomery County Educational Service Center Superintendent Shannon Cox. “Through our partnership with Learn to Earn Dayton, we are helping align school systems, higher education, and industry in a way that makes career-connected learning part of the fabric of a student’s educational experience. This latest investment strengthens our shared commitment to preparing students not just for graduation, but for long-term success in Ohio’s workforce and communities.”

This award comes as part of the Pathways Impact Fund’s $7.5 million commitment to regional intermediaries working to scale high-quality pathways across five states. Backed by several of the nation’s largest philanthropies, the Fund's strategy focuses on ensuring more young people access high-quality advising, accelerated coursework, and career-connected learning that lead to purposeful pathways and economic mobility.

"Strong regional intermediaries like Learn to Earn Dayton don't just deliver programs, they build the partnerships and systems that make high-quality pathways sustainable," said John Garcia III, executive director of the Pathways Impact Fund. "Their collaboration with the Ohio Department of Education and Ohio Excels to expand elements of the PACCE model statewide demonstrates the kind of coordinated approach we believe can transform career-connected learning at scale. We're investing in this work because Ohio's success can inform strategies across the country."

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About Learn to Earn Dayton

Learn to Earn Dayton is the regional cradle-to-career intermediary organization, leveraging data, policy, and partnerships to improve student outcomes along the educational continuum with the goal of increasing the number of students who earn a college degree or marketable credential. Learn to Earn Dayton serves the community as a convener, collaborator, innovator, and incubator, centering youth voices and driving for solutions that can improve our local communities. More information at learntoearndayton.org.

About Pathways Impact Fund

The Pathways Impact Fund, backed by several of the nation’s largest philanthropies, is a national effort to ensure more young people are on pathways with purpose, gaining the experiences beginning in high school that build momentum to fulfilling, well-paying careers and economic mobility.

About StriveTogether

StriveTogether is a national network of community partnerships that bring together neighbors, including youth and families, nonprofits, businesses, schools and more, to work toward a future where youth can thrive in their communities. Cradle to Career Network members change the way their communities work together by building connections, sharing resources and using data to put more young people on a path to economic mobility. Our work helps young people meet seven key life milestones so that they have the opportunities they need to reach their goals, and, ultimately, thrive. Learn more at StriveTogether.org.