National Partnership for Student Success: What Does It Mean for My Students?

The Center for Education Market Dynamics • June 07, 2023

What is the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS)?

In July 2022, the White House announced the National Partnership for Student Success (NPSS), a public-private partnership led by the U.S. Department of Education, AmeriCorps, and the Johns Hopkins Everyone Graduates Center, committed to helping students “recover and thrive” in the aftermath of the pandemic. Central to the NPSS mission is connecting schools with additional adult support staff to address post-pandemic needs.

The Challenges NPSS Seeks to Solve

Young people are resilient, but our education system is inequitably designed and insufficiently resourced to meet the challenges of this crisis. These challenges include:

Absenteeism & Disengagement

Absenteeism and disengagement are on the rise in schools nationwide, with nearly ⅓ of students considered chronically absent.

Lost Instructional Time

During fall 2020, students learned only 67% of Math and 87% of content that peers would typically learn. These losses were especially acute in schools predominately serving students of color.

Students Off-Track

Data from California show the number of 8th and 9th graders in 2020-21 who were highly vulnerable nearly tripled.

Freshmen enrollment in college has declined by 13% since 2019.

Mental Health & Wellbeing

During the pandemic, rates of psychological distress among youth have increased, and 47% of youth report feeling a lack of connectedness in school.

Parent Concerns

75% of parents reported concern over students falling behind academically and 69% reported concern that students are not getting enough individual attention.

The bottom line – students, educators, and parents need more help.

How NPSS Impacts Your Students

By equitably providing students with the relationships and learning that enable them to thrive, NPSS can help:

• Mitigate the effects of instructional loss by re-engaging and supporting students
• Relieve educators and parents overwhelmed by providing additional people-powered supports
• Support districts, schools, and community organizations to create and sustain durable partnerships
• Provide pathways to productive work for adults called to national service and to the field of education and work with youth
• Accelerate student academic and mental health recovery into thriving

Getting Involved

NPSS is committed to providing the leadership, organizational structures, and connective tissue to bring additional evidence-based, person-powered student supports to schools and districts based on locally determined needs. As district leaders, there are immediate and long-term ways you can get involved to help make a difference for the students in your district.

Learn more about NPSS