Understanding the Greater Nubian Education-to-Career Pathway Ecosystem
May 5, 2026
The Boston Foundation, in partnership with Agncy, engaged multiple community stakeholders to better understand the opportunities and challenges young people who live or study in the Nubian Square neighborhood of Roxbury face when moving from education to meaningful careers.
TBF and Agncy conducted a range of primary and secondary research over a nine-month period in 2025 and 2026. Our analysis seeks to highlight the area’s resources, to amplify the good work of pathways teams in the neighborhood, and to identify opportunities to strengthen and innovate this ecosystem.
Stakeholders engaged through this process were passionate about what pathways strategies can enable for students, employers, and communities. Across a range of perspectives, a fairly consistent vision emerged — one that centers a student experience and weaves together different ways and types of learning.
Stakeholders were also clear that the ecosystem needs to reorient around a breadth of student experiences, not only academic tasks, but the learning, growth, and support that happens through engagement with work, community, and self. These conversations reframed the end goal: not just grades, test scores, graduation, or college enrollment, but advancing the dignity, choice, economic advancement, and empowerment of young people.
We outline here opportunities to invest in structural changes to advance the student experience, support the work of pathways teams, develop robust ecosystem infrastructure, and shift policies to enable and advance pathways strategies.
TBF and Agncy conducted a range of primary and secondary research over a nine-month period in 2025 and 2026. Our analysis seeks to highlight the area’s resources, to amplify the good work of pathways teams in the neighborhood, and to identify opportunities to strengthen and innovate this ecosystem.
Stakeholders engaged through this process were passionate about what pathways strategies can enable for students, employers, and communities. Across a range of perspectives, a fairly consistent vision emerged — one that centers a student experience and weaves together different ways and types of learning.
Stakeholders were also clear that the ecosystem needs to reorient around a breadth of student experiences, not only academic tasks, but the learning, growth, and support that happens through engagement with work, community, and self. These conversations reframed the end goal: not just grades, test scores, graduation, or college enrollment, but advancing the dignity, choice, economic advancement, and empowerment of young people.
We outline here opportunities to invest in structural changes to advance the student experience, support the work of pathways teams, develop robust ecosystem infrastructure, and shift policies to enable and advance pathways strategies.
