Alliance for Decision Education Secures Kauffman Foundation Grant to Expand College and Career Incubator Program in Kansas City Public Schools

Thousands of KCPS students will learn critical decision-making skills to support their college and career choices

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Alliance for Decision Education, a national nonprofit leading the effort to integrate decision-making skills into K-12 education, has secured a Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation Capacity Building Grant to expand its College & Career Decision-Making Incubator program within Kansas City Public Schools (KCPS). The Alliance will work with nine KCPS middle and high schools to implement an instructional model that helps students make decisions about life after graduation.

With this grant, the Alliance will strengthen its partnership with KCPS and play a meaningful role in the region’s long-term progress.

“Organizations driving economic mobility—through career pathways, college access, and entrepreneurship—are central to Kansas City’s momentum,” said Dr. DeAngela Burns-Wallace, President and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. “These grants are designed to amplify their reach and ensure they are equipped to seize this window of opportunity with clarity and purpose.”

The program will help KCPS students build self-awareness, agency, analytical thinking, and other skills and dispositions essential for success in any college or career path. It builds on an instructional model developed at Lincoln College Preparatory Academy during the 2023–24 academic year, which supported first-generation college students by integrating Decision Education into the college exploration process. Through 12 guided college visits and the use of structured decision-making tools, 170 Lincoln juniors and seniors learned to evaluate their college preferences and priorities.

After participating in the program, 72% of students agreed that the reflection tool helped them to clarify what they value in a college education. Two out of every three students updated their likelihood of applying to colleges based on visit reflections.

As one 11th grade participant said: “The reflection tool allowed me to better understand my goals in life, and what I want in the future.” Another student said: “I’m more open-minded when it comes to making critical decisions about my future.”

The decisions high school students make about their post-graduation paths—whether pursuing a career, vocational training, or two- or four-year college—can profoundly shape their futures. Decision Education provides a crucial, often overlooked foundation by equipping students with the skills and structure to navigate these choices. In doing so, it fosters agency and empowers students to fully embrace the opportunities ahead.

“In a world of constant change and complexity, every student deserves the fundamental skills to make rational decisions—abilities that will profoundly shape their lives both now and in the years ahead,” said Adriana Massara, Chief Operating Officer and Interim Executive Director of the Alliance. “We're deeply grateful to the Kauffman Foundation for their generous support and to Kansas City Public Schools for their committed partnership as we work together to ensure more young people gain these essential decision-making tools.”

Learn more about the Alliance’s College & Career Decision-Making Incubator program, here.

About Alliance for Decision Education
The Alliance for Decision Education (the Alliance) is a national nonprofit and field builder with the mission of improving lives by empowering students with essential skills and dispositions for making better decisions. The Alliance partners with teachers, academic and business leaders, families and community members to raise awareness and lead the growing call to have Decision Education taught in schools across the country.

Media Contact
Angie Thompson
Communications Manager
angie@alliancefordecisioneducation.org

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