Featured Work: Accelerate ED

Accelerate ED began in 2022 as a Gates Foundation investment to catalyze the scale of strong education-to-career pathways work happening across the country. At the time, many initiatives and communities were already strengthening pathways for high school students, but the field needed a greater focus on acceleration to degrees and careers at the scale of all students. Getting there meant intentionally investing in varied types of teams—local, regional, and state-based—who were at different stages of their work, but all committed to scaling accelerated pathways in their context.

Accelerate ED brought together teams from over 25 regions across the country where K-12, higher education, industry, and community-based organizations were building and scaling accelerated pathways that tie together what students need most across multiple systems. These pathway models look different depending on state and local context, but all incorporate career-connected dual enrollment sequences, work-based learning, and embedded advising. Critically, each regional team was anchored by an intermediary organization that coordinated the right partners, advanced a unified vision and plan for scale, and pressed for system change. 

ESG was proud to play the role of network leader over the course of four years of Accelerate ED. The initiative evolved over three phases:

• In Phase 1, ESG coached 12 intermediaries and their partners through a Blueprint Design Sprint to create a roadmap for scale, established strong community connections, and created public goods
• In Phase 2, we coached a second cohort of 8 new intermediaries in creating Blueprints, Education Design Labs supported design thinking by 6 community colleges, expanded the community, and created additional public goods
• In Phase 3, we delivered responsive support to sites based on just-in-time needs, focused on broader field building activities, and led further co-creation of tools and public goods

Throughout the four years of Accelerate ED, student impact remained at the heart of the work, anchoring teams to purpose and inspiring action. 

As more teams and leaders joined Accelerate ED community over the years, the collective work of the community resulted in major impact and momentum for the pathways movement across the United States.

In 2026, Accelerate ED evolved into the Pathways Impact Collaborative, a national learning community led by the Pathways Impact Fund at StriveTogether. ESG is pleased to be working closely with the PIF to enable the pathways movement’s continued growth and sustainability.