Workforce preparation is a crucial task that all community institutions – from families, to schools, to civic organizations – contribute to. It takes a village to make a good employee. However, few organizations, educational institutions, and nonprofits have adopted as well-rounded of an approach as the Urban Assembly, a nonprofit that equips schools to deliver social-emotional learning to students.

In this episode of Hardly Working, I speak with David Adams, CEO of Urban Assembly as he explains his journey of moral and vocational formation, including how it sparked his passion for the social-emotional and educational success of students. In doing so, he describes some of the unique initiatives that have made Urban Assembly successful, despite the numerous challenges public education experiences today. Our conversation also illuminates policy options for improving opportunity and equity across racial and socioeconomic divides.

Mentioned in the Episode

David Adams

Social and Emotional Learning – The Urban Assembly

Theory of Moral Sentiments by Adam Smith

Urban Assembly

White House Recognizes International Social Emotional Learning Day

SELday – Social Emotional Learning Day

Urban Assembly School for Collaborative Healthcare

Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker

Hillbilly Elegy

William Julius Wilson solving Black inner-city poverty

Brown v. Board of Education

Neil Postman