Just as children’s minds are formed by what they read, so too is our national narrative formed by how our media frame and report the news. So reading really is fundamental - both to our kids, and to the health of our planet.

As you might expect, here at Next Generation we spend a lot of time talking and writing about the next generation of Americans – what they need to thrive and how to make the best world for them to do it in. This week, however, we featured a blog post by a member of that new generation.

August is a slow month for many. Much of the staff here at Next Generation is on vacation, and like them, I too am headed out for a few days to relax and regroup after all of our recent work on Too Small to Fail, the Risky Business Project, and our California programs, because the whole point of resting now is to ensure we have the strength to see these issues through to the end.

Next Generation often uses personal stories about real people to highlight and explain the impact of big policies on our lives.

A little over one year ago, Jim Steyer, Ann O’Leary, and I were in Chicago signing a memorandum of understanding with the Bill, Hillary, and Chelsea Clinton Foundation that joined us together as partners on our Too Small to Fail initiative. At the time we had grand plans; We knew the first issue we wanted to take on, the “word gap,” and we had lots of ideas ...

We know that investments in the early years of childhood can change whole lives. Home visiting programs, for example, are well known to improve prenatal health, strengthen family functioning, reduce child abuse, and more.

There’s more than one way to build kids’ vocabularies and prepare them for a lifetime of success. This week we’re exploring a few new ones.

We had a remarkable week at our “Little Nonprofit That Can” – one that would be remarkable for any nonprofit, but was all the more amazing to me, having spent about a quarter of a century in the field, for an organization that is less than four years old.

Last week, I watched Kate Gordon speak at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s Energy and Sustainability Conference. I always enjoy watching Kate present, because she is always entertaining, substantive, and provocative. The subject was our upcoming Risky Business Project ...

Father’s day is this weekend. And my wish this year probably isn’t that different from the millions of other American dads. Most of us, I’m sure, just want fair and equitable opportunities for our kids and a decent world for them to grow up in.