Making It

rapidly? Stephanie Malia Krauss's magnificent book explores this important question and provides creative pathways to ensure a better future for our kids."
--John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic and former Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
 
"In Making It, Krauss powerfully equips parents, educators and policymakers to be currency-builders for young people facing tomorrow's ever-changing world. Kids need competencies, connections, credentials, and cash - whole-life solutions preparing them for long, livable lives. Krauss writes in a way that is crisp, engaging, and inspiring."
--Anne Holton, professor of Education Policy at George Mason University and former Virginia Secretary of Education
 
"This eye-opening and inspirational book shares a treasure trove of creative perspectives that will change the ways we think about quality education. It should be required reading for educators, youth workers, parents, child advocates, and policymakers who want to understand today's kids and implement innovative, practical strategies that prepare all young people to achieve well-being and success in tomorrow's world."
--Roger Weissberg, PhD, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Psychology at University of Illinois at Chicago and Chief Knowledge Officer for Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
 
"Making It is essential reading for anyone who is parenting and supporting young people in 2020 and beyond."
--Rhonda Broussard, CEO of Beloved Community
 
"It's clear the old 'checklist for adulthood' doesn't work. Krauss builds a credible case for competencies, credentials, connections, and cash as the new currencies of the innovation economy. Among prescriptions of what learners should know and be able to do, Making It is the first book that takes a whole person approach and deals credibly with the new economic realities and outlines strategies 'where young people learn into currency-rich environments.' The concluding chapter on Becoming a Currency Builder is a must-read for parents, teachers, youth-developers, and civic leaders - it's a formula for building just, inclusive, and caring communities."
--Tom Vander Ark, CEO of Getting Smart
 
"Anyone who aims to improve the ecosystems of children and youth will not only benefit from but will also enjoy reading Making It. Mayors, superintendents, healthcare providers, out-of-school time providers, community-based organizations, and many other who touch the lives of children will gain an important framing of what it takes for our kids to 'make it' in a rapidly evolving world. Thank you, Stephanie, for writing this readable and accessible book that will help us all serve kids better!"
--Bridget Rodriguez, Managing Director of EdRedesign at the Harvard Graduate School of Education
 
"In her new book Making It, Stephanie Malia Krauss delivers a wake-up call about the need to align the core of American education with the everchanging demands of the workplace. She lays out a compelling vision of the currencies that will be essential to adults in coming decades and argues persuasively for a wholesale reimagination of how we educate all students - from toddlers through adults seeking to upgrade skills. For a roadmap to a better future, dive into this book!"
--Ted Dintersmith, Founder of The What School Could Be Foundation
 
"Making It is the book that Stephanie Malia Krauss was destined to write. With each page, she lays out a logical and comprehensive roadmap of what all of us need to do to ensure that our children enter a world for which not only they are prepared academically, but a world that reflects improved values, justice and human-centered priorities. Knowing Stephanie and having had the distinct pleasure of working alongside of her in creating better opportunities for Virginia's children, this book does what she does so very well - it creates a vision of what could be and designs a process to actually make it happen. We owe it to our children, especially those underserved, to do all in our power to deliver to them a future that is full of promise, wonder and curiosity. Making It does just that. From my vantage point, there is no more time to waste. This book will inspire you to action. It did me."
--Steve Constantino, internationally recognized speaker on family and community engagement; Executive Professor for the School of Education at William and Mary; author of Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles; and former Chief Academic Officer and acting State Superintendent in Virginia
 
"A vision for today's kids, a vision made actionable through science, case examples, personal stories, and inspiration. This is what Stephanie Malia Krauss has achieved in Making It. If you care about humanity, then Making It is for you - whether you are a parent, policymaker, voter, educator, or social worker. Our collective future depends on enacting the vision advanced in this book."
--Amanda Moore McBride, Morris Endowed Dean and Professor of the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Denver
 
"Making It is an important source for understanding the multiple challenges facing today's children and youth, and how successfully to assure their learning and development. In our rapidly changing world, it provides a framework for building currencies that provide pathways to success of all children in school and life."
--Mark Ginsberg, Provost and Executive Vice President of George Mason University, and former Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University
 
"In a world with so much uncertainty, Making It makes loads of sense. Stephanie's honest and just approach to currency-building changes the calculus of an unfair system to a whole-life approach about well-being developed overtime and not by time."
--Elliot Washor, Co-founder and Director of Big Picture Learning
 
"We know it's not just about academic achievement, but what else do young people need to make it in today's complicated world? Stephanie Malia Krauss carefully and clearly lays it out: an interwoven set of competencies, network of connections, recognized credentials, and necessary financial resources. Unarguably, these 'currencies' are harder to come by for Black, brown, and indigenous young people, and others whose experiences and identities our white-centered systems were designed to disadvantage. If you believe every kid is entitled to make it, this book will challenge you to become a 'currency-builder' - and show you how to do it."
--Kathleen Traphagen, Lead Facilitator of Grantmakers for Thriving Youth and Grantmakers for Education's Out-of-School Time Impact Group
 
"Making It is a uniquely powerful book, offering a clear, concrete roadmap for parents and educators who want to equip our children to lead fundamentally meaningful lives amidst the overwhelming pace of economic, technological, and social change. As 2020 draws to a close, Stephanie's compelling Life Currencies framework could not be more timely as we focus attention, in earnest, on remodeling our institutions for a more hopeful and just future."
--Cyrus E. Driver, Senior Director, Partnership for the Future of Learning
 
"Making It is a must-read for anyone trying to navigate the complexities of education in the 21st century. The book weaves together research on the future of work and the future of learning with decades of research on human development and social mobility, not to mention Krauss's firsthand experiences in policy and practice. The result? Making It paints a detailed picture of what students will need for a future of thriving."
--Julia Freeland Fisher, Director of Education Research at the Clayton Christensen Institute and author of Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations that Expand Students' Networks
 
"Making It positions today's students and families importantly as consumers in the education market, who must now make sense of the more than 700,000 credentials out there and adopt new mindsets about what it means to prepare for an increasingly uncertain world of work ahead."
--Michelle R. Weise, author of Long Life Learning: Preparing for Jobs that Don't Even Exist Yet
 
"Make this book your required reading for 2021. In Making It, author Stephanie Malia Krauss labels the state of today's volatile and unpredictable times as 'the overwhelm.' Stephanie frames this century's grand American challenge as ensuring young people - all of them, especially children of color or those living in impoverished homes - gain what they need to thrive, not just survive, as adults. She lays out a reimagined educational path delineated by social and economic justice to enable all young people to navigate toward currency-driven success in life as they acquire competencies, cash, connections, and credentials. Making it defines a social contract to educate all learners well - a contract that's long overdue."
--Pamela Moran, executive director of the Virginia School Consortium for Learning and coauthor of Timeless Learning
 
"If you fear the current education system is outdated, Making It is a must-read to deliberately create mind space to reimagine what is possible. It offers honest insights about future trends and disruptions, including questioning the value of current qualifications like the high school diploma toward meaningful credentials. It asks for revamping graduation requirements and rethinking meaningful credentials on what a valuable high-quality diploma might look like. This requires recognizing, undoing, and correcting the persistent inequities that harm kids in today's traditional education system focused on ranking and sorting kids, as well as stopping damaging privilege hoarding. It challenges adults to do the important work of grappling with uncertainties and turning to science on youth development to provide new opportunities through educational and economic pathways."
--Susan Patrick, CEO of Aurora Institute
 
"There are deep chasms in the opportunities young people have to accrue the currencies Krauss so clearly describes in Making It. Her book brings the study of youth development into current times. My blended family of three adolescent boys will benefit from me having read this, and my advocacy with state and local policymakers across this country will also surely benefit. This should be required reading for anyone shaping public policy beyond 2020."
--Elizabeth Gaines, Founder and Director of Children's Funding Project