The Aspen Institute is taking its interest in cross-partisan leadership one big step further with an announcement of its Rising Generations Strategy Group, which will bring together leaders and young people to shape a shared vision for the future of education, according to this press release.
The group will be co-chaired by Gina Raimondo, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce and Governor of Rhode Island, and Richard Burr, former U.S. Senator from North Carolina.
“Having led at both the state and federal levels,” says the press release, “Raimondo and Burr bring complementary perspectives shaped by economic policy, workforce development, and public service across diverse communities. Together, they underscore a shared national reality that while education systems vary across regions, the need to better prepare young people for the opportunities and challenges ahead is universal.”
“Education is one of the most important investments a country can make in its future,” said Burr. “The Rising Generations Strategy Group is an opportunity to step back from politics and focus on practical, long-term solutions that help young people succeed and strengthen our nation.”
The announcement comes at a time when at the state, national, and international level, different approaches are being used to underscore that “preparing young people for the future must transcend political lines.”
For more than seven decades, the Aspen Institute has convened strategy groups to engage in dialogue that goes on to inform action, shape policy, and drive durable change.
According to the press release, the Institute intends to build on that legacy with the launch of the Rising Generations Strategy Group (RGSG), which will bring together leaders across political perspectives and generations and include youth representatives as full participants in developing a shared agenda and in shaping recommendations “that strengthen education systems, expand opportunity, and prepare young people to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
Over the next year, the group will focus on four priorities:
Technology + Education: Harnessing technology, including artificial intelligence, to expand opportunity and empower educators.
Career-Connected Learning: Aligning classroom learning with real-world experiences that prepare students for meaningful work and civic contribution.
School Choice + Alternative Models: Exploring innovative school designs that meet the diverse needs of students and families.
State Governance: Advancing bold approaches to state education governance that foster coherence, accountability, and innovation.
— The press release
“Education sits at the heart of America’s economic strength, civic health, and global leadership,” said Kaya Henderson, executive director of the Center for Rising Generations, which is part of the Aspen Institute’s Education & Society Program. “If we want the next generation to lead us forward, we must build systems aligned to the world they are inheriting, not the one we grew up in.”
The group will convene for its first in-person meeting in July 2026 in Aspen, Colorado. Here is who will lead and staff the work.
“With the American education system facing persistent gaps in student readiness, shifting workforce demands, and emerging global competition,” the release says the Aspen Institute “sees 2026 as a pivotal moment for reimagining what young people need to succeed. … The creation of the RGSG comes amid a dramatically changing education landscape and the need for a more cohesive national vision.
It also comes at a time when the works of groups like this one will need to serve as a catalyst for a leapfrog effect if the United States wants to catch up to the rest of the world.
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Connecting the dots to what is happening in North Carolina and internationally
NC’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education
In March, Gov. Josh Stein, Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, and Speaker of the House Destin Hall announced the formation of a Blue Ribbon Commission on Public Education, according to a press release and accompanying executive order.
The commission has been charged to “study the structure and implementation of public education in the State,” including:
- Teacher training and student advancement,
- Administrative operations,
- Educational leadership, and
- Accountability.
The OECD’s framework for educational success
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has engaged seven high-performing Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) countries to think about the future of education.
The United States is not one of them.
“Our schools today will be our economy, our society, and our democracy tomorrow,” notes a conceptual framework OECD released in November 2025, providing a blueprint for how education is shape shifting internationally.
This framework is already being used to change the metrics for measuring educational success, including PISA, in tomorrow’s world.
According to OECD, education will have to address five student competencies in the future: adaptive problem-solving, ethical competence, understanding the world, appreciating the world, and acting in the world.
Why those? “Because by 2040 AI will be effective in critical thinking, creative thinking, ethical reasoning, flexibility and collaboration,” predicts the report, citing research.
Importantly, these new competencies “do not replace foundational literacies but build on them.” Countries like Australia, Canada, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Singapore, and the United Kingdom are at a point where they can move beyond thinking about competency to consider “flourishing.”
That’s what policymakers are talking about in countries that lead the world in PISA scores. In 2022, when PISA scores were last released, the United States did not break the top 30.
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