EVERY. STUDENT. PREPARED. INVESTING IN THE WORKFORCE OF TOMORROW

Every. Student. Prepared.

Aligned is a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of business leaders committed to improving education in Kansas and Missouri.

40% of 4th graders are not proficient in reading
Missouri is behind the national average in educational attainment
47% of Kansas graduates leave the state
Aligned aims to crack this paradox by advocating for policies that will improve K-12 education and post-secondary outcomes, strengthen our workforce, and empower a generation of learners. Together with business leaders and policymakers, we’re reforming systems to unlock the full potential of Kansas and Missouri students and create a brighter future for all learners.
News & Events
This post is the second in a series exploring literacy within education policy and practice. In the first blog , we introduced the major methods of teaching reading in the U.S. — phonics, whole language, balanced literacy, and sight word memorization. Here, we look at how those methods developed and...
People giving their opinions.
This month’s highlights: Top News – New national polling from the PIE Network reveals a major gap between parents’ perceptions of student achievement and actual performance data. Missouri Update – School Funding Modernization Task Force workgroups are developing early proposals for updating the...
Aligned's listening tour meets in Wichita, Kansas.
At Aligned, we believe Kansas thrives when education and workforce systems work together. That belief guided us this year as we launched the Kansas Cradle to Career Listening Tour, a chance to step into communities to hear directly from Kansans about what is working, what is not, and where we need...
 
Problems Solved
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Missouri law prohibited measuring quality in early care and education centers. We removed that ban and established the Quality Assurance Report.
School districts could not use state aid dollars to partner with quality early childhood programs. We worked to pass language to allow contracting which increased the supply of quality pre-K. .
Administrators had few ways to address staffing challenges. We wrote language to allow alternative certification pathways for hard-to-staff schools and subject areas.
Kansas lacked a way to answer questions about education and workforce policy. We supported efforts to create a state longitudinal data system.
Uncover the power of aligning business with education to prepare every student.
Impact Profile
Aligned Case Study
Authored on

In this case study, we showcase the success of the Visiting Scholars Certification Pathway. In 2018, Aligned worked with the Missouri General Assembly to pass legislation establishing and expanding the Visiting Scholar Certificate. This certificate is available to individuals with an academic degree or related occupational experience in a secondary content area. Qualified individuals must be employed by a Missouri public school district as part of a business-education partnership initiative designed to build career pathways systems for students or employed as part of an initiative designed to fill vacant positions in hard-to-staff public schools or hard-to-fill subject areas for students in a grade or grades not lower than the ninth grade.

In this case study, we showcase the success of the Visiting Scholars Certification Pathway. In 2018, Aligned worked with the Missouri General Assembly to pass legislation establishing and expanding the Visiting Scholar Certificate. This certificate is available to individuals with an academic degree or related occupational experience in a secondary content area. Qualified individuals must be employed by a Missouri public school district as part of a business-education partnership initiative designed to build career pathways systems for students or employed as part of an initiative designed to fill vacant...

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Professional lead classroom instruction
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Students work on electronics with teacher
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Students work on electronics with teacher