Joel Vargas

Vice President, Education

Joel Vargas is vice president of the Education practice, overseeing programs focused on improving learning systems and outcomes. Previously, he was vice president of programs, overseeing inclusive regional economic development and the application of research and analytics as well as programs focused on improving education.

Joel has also advanced state policies and local practices that promote improved high school and postsecondary outcomes for underserved students. He has helped policymakers and intermediary organizations develop state and federal policies that incorporate college and career experiences into high school.

Since joining JFF in 2002, Joel has designed and implemented a research and state policy agenda for implementing early college designs; created policy frameworks, tools, and model legislation; written and edited white papers, books, research reports, and national publications; provided technical assistance to state task forces and policy working groups; served on national advisory groups; and organized national policy conferences.

In 2015, he launched JFF’s West Coast office, which has supported the efforts of leaders of regional networks to advance cross-sector strategies for improving the economic mobility of low-income youth and adults.

Before joining JFF, Joel directed, initiated, and studied middle school and high school programs designed to help students from underrepresented populations get into and through a postsecondary education. He also has been a teacher, an editor, and a research assistant for the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University.

Joel is the president of the board of directors of EdSource, a multimedia source of news for education in California. He has also served on the boards of the Linked Learning Alliance, the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy, the Derryfield School, and the alumni council of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

At JFF, Joel says, “I get to work with people who share a passion for designing solutions that matter for people who must be better served by our education and workforce development systems and to focus on ways to bring those to scale.”

Joel has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Boston University and a master’s degree and a doctorate in education planning, administration, and social policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Outside of work, he says, “I like running and biking in the beautiful Bay Area, where I grew up. I also enjoy playing guitar.”

Navigating Multiple Pathways: A Guide to Supporting Adolescent Career Decision-Making and Choice -- Banner Image

This guide is intended to help educators, program directors, career counselors, employers, families, and other caring adults in their efforts to create career learning and navigation ecosystems that support and guide student career decision-making and choices, taking into account personal, social, and life aspirations and career goals.

We're expanding a proven model for improving high school students' success by bringing STEM college courses into the high school classroom.

How can we prepare many more young people, especially those from underserved communities, to succeed in college and careers? This first paper in a series explores why 12th grade should tie more closely to the first year of college.

How can educators prepare more high school seniors to enter college and thrive during the first critical year? We highlight three success stories from JFF’s work guiding school district community college partnerships.

This paper, part of a series on rethinking 12th grade, explores how collaboration between high school and colleges is key to ensuring postsecondary success for students.

Most students in Bridgeport, Connecticut, come from low-income families, a group that has struggled historically to complete high school and enter college. But through early college pathways, they have a greater chance of success.

Through this brief, learn how the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo Independent School District has continued to advance an early college-for-all strategy—a mission with significant community impact.

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California Rural Partnerships Alliance

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Support and strengthen the ability of rural, cross-sector education and career partnerships in California to gather, share, and use data through research and technical assistance.

Early College Expansion Partnership Hero

We're expanding a proven model for improving high school students' success in the Rio Grande Valley and the Denver Metro regions.

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Pay for Success in K–12 Education

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Supporting the development of sustainable funding models for high-quality career and technical programs

A Chapter from 13 Ideas that Are Transforming the Community College World

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Early College

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Earning college credit in high school is a proven way for low-income students to get a jump on a college degree. JFF leads expansion of this national model.

Thousands of low-income students have earned associate’s degrees—for free—by the time they finished high school, thanks to early college designs JFF has spread nationally. Now JFF proposes a bold way to scale this proven model—a whole new system specially designed for success in grades 11-14.

As the University of California searches for a new president, it should keep in mind the vast role the UC system could play in advancing economic opportunity for all Californians.

Strategies to address extensive learning loss caused by COVID-19-related school closures should aim to permanently strengthen educational opportunities for low-income students.

New strategies can put high school grads to work in communities and prepare for the future of work.

At JFF, we’re observing this Labor Day with a new sense of gravity—and we’re renewing our commitment to building a society where everyone can advance economically.

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Inclusive Regional Economic Development

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JFF designs place-based strategies to advance economic opportunity through activation of cross-sector networks and an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Young people today need a multiplicity of pathways from education into careers— not just the options created more than a century ago.

JFF has a plan for eliminating the disconnect between high school, higher education, and the workforce. We call it the ‘Big Blur.’

Nominate Innovators Building New Pathways from High School to Career

JFF applauds the early college educators who have helped many students earn postsecondary credentials they otherwise wouldn’t have. But we still have a need for transformational changes that would make early college the norm across the country.

College Board Career Decision-Making Blog Hero Image

Jobs for the Future (JFF) partnered with College Board’s BigFuture team to produce a research-based guide for caring adults, providing insights and resources on how to help young people make decisions about their postsecondary work and learning pathways.

This paper argues for a radical restructuring of education for grades 11–14—by erasing the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college—to open opportunities for the learners our current systems leave behind. We make the case for an entirely new type of institution—neither high school nor college—designed specifically to better meet the needs of young people after 10th grade and help prepare them to succeed in the world of work.

After nearly two decades of growth, the results are clear: early college programs offer a strong return on investment for students, schools, and societies. Tell us about your experience as we plan for the next 10 years.

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The Big Blur

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An argument for erasing the boundaries between high school, college, and careers, and creating one new system that works for everyone.

Millions of working Californians are unable to fulfill their families’ basic needs. Higher-paying jobs that require specialized skills are beyond their reach, and many entry-level jobs are likely to be automated by 2022, so there’s an urgent need to redesign the state’s education and training systems to help people get the skills they need to secure family-supporting jobs. This brief—the first in a series—describes the challenges facing people in low-wage jobs and examines the shifts in relationships between employers, education and training providers, community agencies, and workers that will be required to keep up with the rapid pace of economic change and technological innovation.

Millions of working Californians are unable to fulfill their families’ basic needs. Automation threatens entry-level jobs while higher-paying jobs require skills that are out of reach. The state’s education and training systems must be redesigned to help fill the skills gap. This brief—the second in a series—describes innovations advanced by organizations participating in the James Irvine Foundation’s Better Careers initiative, including substantive investments by employers, emerging avenues for entering and connecting with growing industries, and intermediary efforts to scale innovative approaches.

JFF highlights work to increase economic advancement for youth and adults in California by creating strong, unified education and workforce systems across the state. The regional cross-sector collaboratives have focused on helping more low-income young people graduate high school and earn valuable postsecondary credentials. Their efforts, which integrate rigorous academics, high-quality career-technical education, and work-based learning, have generated critical lessons about how to lead positive, inclusive change at scale.

Dual Enrollment in California: Applying National Lessons to State Challenges

Dual enrollment has long been recognized as a powerful strategy to increase college enrollment, success, affordability. Yet compared to many other states, California has been slow to embrace this proven approach. With support from the College Futures Foundation, JFF and Career Ladders Project have conducted research on the evolution and current state of dual enrollment policy and practice in California. Together we have developed joint recommendations for expanding dual enrollment in California and expanding its impact.

Millions of working Californians are unable to fulfill their families’ basic needs. Higher-paying jobs that require specialized skills are beyond their reach, and many entry-level jobs are likely to be automated by 2022, so there’s an urgent need to redesign the state’s education and training systems to help people get the skills they need to secure family-supporting jobs. This brief—the third in a series—examines the need for a more equitable balance of influence and power among the key stakeholders—employers, workers, and training providers—in the workforce development system

Lessons About the State Role in Sustaining Efforts to Improve Economic Advancement Cover

The state of California made a huge investment, $500 million, when it established the California Careers Pathways Trust in 2014. This program funded regional consortia to expand career pathways for high school students to earn credentials leading to high-wage careers. Since 2015, JFF and its partners have researched the progress of regional consortia grantees from the first CCPT cohort. This final cornerstone report and its companion pieces explore the sustainability of these efforts, the necessary resources for success, and other key findings.

This report provides a comprehensive overview of the state-level policies and actions that support the Pathways to Prosperity work, offering up concrete examples of how the approach is successfully implemented across the Pathways Network.

JFF applauds Laurene Jobs’ $50 million investment to inspire new thinking, innovation, and action around redesigning the American high school. Our nation’s high schools have largely been impervious to decades of efforts to raise the educational achievemen

Rhode Island Expands College Courses in High School

Way to go, Rhode Island! The state is paving the way for more young people to get a leg up on college while still in high school and increase their chances for postsecondary success. The Board of Education has adopted

In an economic era where having a postsecondary credential is required to secure a family-supporting career, too many young people never finish high school, enroll in college, or complete a degree or credential.

Raising the Income Prospects of Low-income Youth

America has struggled for decades to figure out how to move more people up the economic ladder. Unfortunately, our education and job training systems aren't equipped to prepare enough people for today's economy. How can we change that?

A Hack for Improving High School: Combine it With College and Career

By Joel Vargas and Hannah Smith Originally posted on the Getting Smart blog and on Huffington Post in the GenDIY series on March 12, 2016. Hack: a clever solution to a tricky problem There is good news and bad news

Paying for college just got easier, with the Obama Administration’s announcement of the 44 institutions chosen to participate in the Experimental Sites Initiative that will allow high school students to use federal Pell grants to pay for credit-bearing co

What does it take to prepare our high school students for success in college? Two decades of school improvement efforts—from imposing more standards, testing, and accountability to increasing student participation in advanced coursework, such as Advanced

Ending DACA Hurts Dreamers and Makes No Economic Sense

On September 5, the Trump Administration announced its decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program six months from now, throwing hundreds of thousands of young people’s lives into turmoil. Ending DACA will halt the considerab

Rethinking 12th Grade: Making the Most of Senior Year to Prepare All Students for Postsecondary Success

Too many high school graduates enter college unprepared for its rigorous study. In order to improve their chance of success, we must consider a new approach to the 12th grade—one that leaves students ready for college and beyond.

By making 12th grade a productive year for students, instead of a wrap-up, educators can better prepare students for success in postsecondary education.

Where to Now? Thinking Aloud About the Next Generation of Policy Issues for Dual Enrollment

Unless some key issues are addressed, the rapidly expanding dual enrollment approach will stall out, keeping many high school students from advancing to postsecondary education.

The following is a one-page summary of written testimony given by Joel Vargas to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on Wednesday, April 18, 2012. (For the full written testimony, CLICK HERE you can also watch the

Everyone in education is talking about the Common Core State Standards: Writing curriculum to implement them. Building capacity to teach them. Using technology to help students meet them. This is all essential work that must be done before states begin

Eleven years after the Early College High School Initiative launched, the early college movement has achieved a great deal. There are now more than 75,000 students in early college schools across the country who graduate high school and enroll in

It is the question in education today: How do we dramatically increase the number of high-need students who graduate high school with the tools they need to succeed in college and family-supporting careers? Or, put a more personal way, how

At Akron Early College High School , students start their college career the day they begin high school—right on campus at the University of Akron. Akron ECHS teens take one university course each semester along with regular high school classes,

JFF and our partners are celebrating the remarkable success we've seen—and the promising future we anticipate—from implementing early college experiences by observing the annual Early College Week.