Crossing the Canyon

This report has become a seminal guide at The Reinvention Lab, and to many in the wider education sector, continuing to shape how we think about the transition from high school to adulthood and what it would take to make that transition safer for more young people.

In 2023, we started with over 50 conversations with young people and the adults who support them, and with increasing relevance, it offers a practical framework for thinking about what a more coordinated, more thoughtful transition from youth to adulthood could look like.

On one side, high school graduation. On the other, a stable, successful adult life.

Now imagine that canyon with steep, crumbling cliffs. Trails cut across, but it is hard to tell where they start and end, and what obstacles you might encounter. The whole landscape shifts dramatically depending on weather patterns no one warned you about.

This metaphor was not invented by researchers. It emerged from the people we interviewed. Adults and young people, independently and repeatedly, reached for this image when we asked them to describe the transition from high school to adulthood.

Where young people expected solid ground, they instead found themselves tripping or falling off a cliff that no one told them existed.

Confusing and high-stakes

Young people are expected to make life-defining decisions under enormous pressure, with little preparation for the terrain they are about to cross.

Undersupported

The adult supporters trying to help young people safely cross the canyon do not always work together. Their support exists in patchwork ways that do not consider the whole picture.

Increasingly risky

The three measures of a successful adult life are becoming harder and harder to achieve. For many, the single path that was sold as the answer is no longer sufficient.

In the United States, we have long talked about college as if it guarantees a stable and successful adult life. Some of our interviewees even used that exact image: a private plane flight across the canyon.

If you complete the flight with a four-year degree in hand, you will land safely on the other side.

The "College for All" movement has shaped American education for over thirty years. Every single young person we spoke to, even those who chose not to attend college, named it as the societal milestone against which all other decisions would be evaluated.

If college was not part of their journey, they thought something was wrong with them.

Marker 01

Economic Mobility

The ability to live a sustainable middle-class life and build generational wealth, or help support a family financially.

Marker 02

Self-Exploration and Belonging

Having the space and time to grow up, make friends, and build a sense of identity and purpose.

Marker 03

Societal Legitimacy

Recognition in society as a trustworthy, capable, and "credible" adult; the ability to use and extend social capital.

The cost-benefit analysis of whether to attend college in order to unlock economic mobility is becoming more and more complex. Low-income young people with the exact same level of credentials still earn less than their peers from wealthier families ten years after enrolling. The investment that was described as equal turns out to be deeply unequal.

This generation is digitally saturated, lonelier than ever, and coming off a global pandemic during which isolation was the norm. First-generation college-goers and young adults of color made it clear in our interviews: more access to college is not the same as having an increased sense of belonging.

Employers overwhelmingly view a four-year college degree as the primary signifier of workplace readiness, even when they do not believe it is a great indicator of a person's skills. College still delivers legitimacy. But it is harder than ever to reach, and the price of that legitimacy has never been higher.

No longer sufficient on its own

Frequently not being met

Still the standard, at significant cost

Over and over, we heard young people asking "Do I belong here? Are these my people?".

A desire to belong often outweighed economic or academic considerations when young people were making crucial decisions about what programs to apply to or commit to.

The practitioners we spoke with described having to proactively and explicitly support young people in connecting with each other and making friends.

Adult supporters can no longer take for granted the idea that meaningful social connections will naturally form.

The opposite may in fact be true: it may be harder than it has ever been to create genuine belonging.

01

Living Authentically Can young people be themselves without fear of being excluded? This is particularly important for marginalized individuals.
02

Being Missed Will there be concern and follow-up if young people do not show up? They want to matter not only as participants but as individuals who are cared for.
03

Forming New Relationships Building connections is as important as acquiring skills. Young people seek help connecting with others and appreciate when introductions are made.
04

Sharing Goals Is there agreement on what is valuable? Can young people collaborate with peers who share similar values and definitions of success?
05

Giving, Not Just Taking Young people want to build their skills by helping others, not just by receiving teachings. They desire a sense of importance and recognition.

In many ways, it remains taboo for adults, including educators, parents, guidance counselors, and school system leaders, to question the value of college. Adults were telling us the same stories over and over, but they were not speaking to one another.

The educators, school founders, and organizational leaders we spoke to described watching young people complete college, do everything right, and still struggle to find stable footing on the other side. And they described feeling unable to say so publicly, for fear of undermining the one narrative that has organized American education for a generation.

Our research gave those conversations a place to happen. And what emerged was a picture of a field that is quietly ready for a different kind of conversation.

"I came to the conclusion over 12 years that college is not affordable for all, so college is not for all, and we need to find alternative paths to allow people to obtain a degree, and in general, maybe a degree is not for everyone right out of high school."

Educator

"Even with the best support and intervention, a lot of students were not able to complete a four-year degree program. And the first reason for that is probably because not all of them really needed to be in that degree program, and it wasn't what they needed for the careers they wanted."

Educator

"We were so laser-focused on those things that we weren't really looking at the really far-away goalposts."

Charter school founder

Quadrant 01

Trail Guides

Individual supporters who know the terrain and personally guide young people through it. Formal or informal, a Trail Guide is someone willing to extend their network and their time to help a young person navigate the world.

"Walk with me. I'll guide you across."

Quadrant 02

Bridge Builders

Organizations that connect the education and employer sides of the canyon. Built over time, with coordination from both sides. The most effective model in the ecosystem. And the one most at risk of collapsing without funding.

"We've built a bridge. It was hard work, but it holds."

Quadrant 03

Mapmakers

Organizations that study the terrain and share evidence-based routes across the canyon. Most likely to use data, algorithms, and emerging technology to personalize their guidance and evaluate the outcomes of other supporters.

"I've studied you and the landscape. Here are your best routes."

Quadrant 04

Transport Helicopters

Institutions that bring young people together to pursue fixed, defined goals. Accessible for anyone who knows specifically where they want to land. Often the most visible type of organization in the ecosystem.

"All are welcome. But I can only go to the fixed landing pad."

Of the four types of supporters, Bridge Builders demonstrate the most comprehensive approach to helping young people cross the canyon.

They operate with a core belief that the system is the problem, not the young person, and they commit to staying the course long after other supporters have stepped back.

And yet, Bridge Builders operate in a "no-man's land" of funding: not quite education, not quite job training, and not quite social services. During the course of our research, we interviewed several Bridge Builder organizations that deeply impressed us, and that later collapsed due to a lack of funding, even before this report was published.

What sets Bridge Builders apart

They understand that the system is the problem, not the young person. They do not judge or evaluate young people for struggling.

They work to change the adults in the system, including employers and administrators, rather than solely focusing on changing young people.

They provide long-term commitments to help young people navigate their paths, even years after graduation.

They extend social capital. Access can be just as powerful as skill-building. The real bottleneck is opportunities and contacts.

Nothing is "out of scope." If a young person has a panic attack, or needs gas money, it is an opportunity for problem-solving.

They act as "value mirrors" who affirm young people's strengths and guide them toward suitable pathways. To do this, it is crucial to have close, human connections.

They emphasize network-building by providing crucial connections and leveraging opportunities. Help young people get a foot in the door; they can learn the rest on their own.

They create lasting and meaningful institutions that foster a sense of responsibility and pride, motivating young people to succeed by co-creating a new collective identity.

Our goal is not to discourage young people from going to college, or practitioners from supporting college readiness. The goal is to help us collectively recognize that college, as it exists today, may not be sufficient in helping all young people acquire the three markers of a successful adulthood.

It is time to expand the definition of success. Young people need multiple safe methods of transportation to cross the canyon, and they want agency to decide which to pursue and how.

While college can be a part of the road to adulthood, young people should have the ability to explore many options, rather than being told that college is the ideal path that works for everyone, regardless of circumstance.

A shift in thinking

College for All

→

Success for All

One guaranteed path

→

A network of safe passages

College as the measure

→

Three markers of success

Fixing young people

→

Fixing the system

Isolated adult supporters

→

A coordinated ecosystem

High-stakes, one-shot decisions

→

Low-risk exploration and agency

Could "College for All" change to "Economic Mobility, Self-Exploration and Belonging, and Societal Legitimacy for All"?

Crossing The Canyon, 2023

Between February and May 2023, the Reinvention Lab at Teach For America conducted over 50 ethnographic interviews with young people ages 15-24 and the adults who help prepare them for success after high school. Conversations were 60 minutes, conducted over video, and coded by hand.

As ethnographic researchers, our focus is on understanding daily life and its significance. We believe that narrative accounts of lived experience can help us explore the reasons behind people's actions and illuminate their hopes, fears, and aspirations. Our work is complementary to quantitative and academic studies, several of which we summarize in the report to support our qualitative findings.

Through tracking research started in 2023, we are seeing a continued and even increased relevance to this work as the paths from high school to a meaningful, adult, life rapidly shift in the Age of AI and growing need for 21st and 22nd century skills.

The majority of the illustrations throughout the report were hand drawn by researcher Colleen Keating-Crawford as a form of story card note taking during interviews.

01

The Canyon Crossing Metaphor

Why young people describe the transition to adulthood in treacherous terms, and where the system is leaving them exposed.

02

Three Markers of Success

Economic Mobility, Self-Exploration and Belonging, and Societal Legitimacy. How young people define a successful adult life in their own terms.

03

The Full Data on College

Quantitative analysis from Georgetown's Center on Education and the Workforce, alongside the qualitative picture from our interviews.

04

Questioning the Fixation on College

What educators are saying privately, why the "College for All" narrative is harder to sustain, and what it costs to keep defending it.

05

Creating More Safe Passages

The case for moving from a single-track linear system to a network of many trails that works for a greater number and diversity of young people.

06

The Four-Quadrant Ecosystem Framework

Trail Guides, Bridge Builders, Mapmakers, and Transport Helicopters: a practical map of who supports young people and how they can work better together.

07

Lessons from Bridge Builders

Eight principles from the most effective model in the ecosystem, and what it would take to give them the support they need to survive.

08

Calls to Action by Role

Specific questions and actions for funders, policymakers, higher education leaders, K-12 educators, employers, organizational practitioners, families, and young people.

Crossing The Canyon

Imagine the transition from childhood to adulthood as a canyon.