Our Results
NAF academies are making a powerful impact on the lives of thousands of students across the country.
In the United States, 1 in 5 students don’t graduate from high school, limiting the possibilities for career and life success.
Meanwhile, businesses are struggling to fill open positions with skilled talent. In fact, one third of the nation’s unemployment rate is due to the growing divide between employee skill sets and in-demand jobs.
In other words, while the number of available jobs is increasing, the number of people qualified to fill them is not—at least not yet.
Education has the power to change everything.
NAF helps underserved high school students make connections between their schoolwork and the professional world, opening their eyes to unimagined possibilities beyond the classroom.
Students in NAF academies are also far likelier to graduate than their peers who are not involved with NAF, and the long-term impact of high school graduation cannot be understated. Earning potential increases and incarceration rates decrease, helping to break the cycle of poverty while contributing to a stronger economy.
NAF serves more than 117,000 students in 34 states, plus DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. As of 2020, 60% of NAF academy students receive free/reduced price lunch, 80% are students of color, and nearly half are female. Last year, 99% of seniors graduated, 87% were college-bound, and 39% of seniors had an internship—that’s thousands of students who wouldn’t otherwise have been exposed to transformative work-based learning opportunities.
Our Students
Our Findings
The NAF educational design makes a difference for all high school students—especially those at-risk of not graduating—and finds its highest success in four-year, full-program participation. See more of our findings.
+10%
With full-program participation, at-risk NAF students had a 10% higher graduation rate than non-NAF students
+6%
With full-program participation, NAF students graduated at a 6% higher rate than non-NAF students.
+3.3%
Overall, students enrolled in a NAF academy graduated at a 3.3% higher rate than non-NAF students.
- Diana Ramos, NAF Alumna
Get Involved
NAF is ensuring students across the country are college, career, and future ready! Get involved now to help our mission.