Opportunity Youth in Texas:
What’s Changed Since 2021?
Longtime partners may recall that in 2021, Greater Texas Foundation partnered with Trellis Foundation and T.L.L. Temple Foundation to convene more than 80 people around the question:
“What would it take to reconnect Opportunity Youth to education and work equitably and at scale across Texas?”
This convening coincided with the launch of the Texas Opportunity Youth Network and an $1 million Innovation Fund.
This year, we checked back with some of the partners from our 2021 convening to provide an update on the initiatives that serve Opportunity Youth (OY). What did we learn? In the last four years, educators, nonprofits, and funders have been working in concert to better serve opportunity youth, even in the face of significant changes in the economic and policy environment.
This new report shares the progress made and our partners’ hopes for the future in serving disengaged young people.
Here are a few student-centered approaches shared in the new report:
- Rural Learners: Texas A&M AgriLife Extension’s Rural Student Success Initiative (RSSI) helps rural learners discover multiple postsecondary and career options, visit college campuses across the state, and receive training in financial literacy and resilience skills.
- Part-Time Learners: The University of Texas at Dallas completed an interdisciplinary and mixed methods study to support the design of policies that meet the needs of part-time students and increase their chances of academic success.
- Veteran Learners: Student Veterans of America is working to understand the successes, challenges, and unmet needs of U.S. military veterans in Texas who are currently enrolled in higher education to earn a degree, credential, or certificate.
Opportunity Youth in Texas:
Over the last two years, Public Agenda has talked with high-performing institutions in Texas, California, and Michigan to learn how their policies and practices are creating economic mobility for low-income students. Their website now has 14 case studies, including six from Texas schools.
More on Economic Mobility:
A Virtual Event
How Community Colleges Advance Economic Opportunity
Public Agenda researchers will share key findings from case studies of community colleges in Texas, California, and Illinois, including broad themes and replicable practices. Following the presentation, participants will be invited to ask questions to dig deeper into insights gleaned from these three states representing distinctive geographies and economies.
Date: December 3, 2025
Time: 1:00 pm ET/noon CT/11 MT/10 PT
Register here
Recent Grants
In its history, Greater Texas Foundation has awarded more than $150 million in grants to changemakers in Texas education. And 2025 has been a very busy year for grantmaking.
Since our last newsletter, we have announced grants to the following organizations:
Austin Community College
ACC brings academic support services into the classroom
$416,634
Texas Success Center
Talent Strong Texas Pathways gets additional funding
$1,800,000
E3 Alliance
E3 Alliance strengthens and expands Central Texas College Attainment Network (CenTxCAN)
$295,363
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University provides intensive support when students are most vulnerable
$458,101
Jasper Independent School District
Jasper ISD brings needed education and workforce opportunities to adult learners and opportunity youth
$550,137
Center for Acknowledging the Values Accomplishments and Lives of Remarkable Youth
CAVALRY creates degree-based apprenticeships to fill San Antonio workforce gaps
$540,000
Panola College
Panola College adopts integrated AI-powered system to improve learner communication
$210,991
OneGoal
OneGoal implements a system-level program to provide tailored postsecondary coaching
$281,990
Aspen Institute, Inc.
The Aspen Institute enhances curriculum for senior leadership at rural community colleges
$524,950
Council of Independent Colleges
Council of Independent Colleges launches a Texas consortium for experiential learning
$300,000
Intercultural Development Research Association
IDRA collaborates with ESC 1 to provide tailored on-site support for ECHS and P-TECH models in the Rio Grande Valley
$500,000
Texas Tech Foundation, Inc.
Assessing the impact of HB8 on rural Community Colleges
$300,000