NAF

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Welcome to the NAF page! Here, find NAF academy updates, news from NAF, photos and more. NAF puts students on a path to achieving their full potential.

NAF is a national education non-profit that brings schools and businesses together to better prepare students of all backgrounds. Since 1980, NAF has led a movement for immersive, career-focused teaching and work-based learning. With the support of NAF community-based advisory boards, schools connect with the workforce to fuel shared progress—from creating culturally responsive curriculum and paid internship opportunities, to fostering innovation and building future-ready businesses. NAF helps students explore career options, create a plan for the future, and take part in hands-on, work-based learning unlike anything traditional public education systems can offer. NAF has grown from one NAF Academy of Finance in New York City to hundreds of academies across the country focusing on growing industries including finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences; and support programs of study that are aligned with the National Career Clusters Framework. Today, NAF's programs and products are helping over 150,000 high school students including 110,000 enrolled in 624 NAF academies across 34 states. In 2025, NAF academies reported 99% of seniors graduated with 89% of graduates planning to go to college.

10/02/2026

Hospitality is about more than serving food. It’s about making people feel cared for. 🚚💚

Through a student-led food truck made possible by Intuit, students in the NAF Academy of Hospitality & Tourism at Justin F. Kimball High School are putting that idea into action while building skills in customer service, entrepreneurship, financial literacy and teamwork.

The experience gives students a firsthand look at what it takes to run a business and build a future in hospitality, and give back to their community.

Read the full blog: https://go.naf.org/4rHSoDI

📷 Dallas ISD

09/30/2026

What stays with a student after high school ends?

For NAF alumna Zoe Roberts, it was a behind-the-scenes hotel tour through the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism and a story from Thomas Penny, NAF Board Member and President of Donohoe Hospitality Services. Thomas shared how he started out as a dishwasher and worked his way up in the industry. That moment left Zoe excited to pursue a career in hospitality. Today, she’s a membership manager at Destination DC .

At NAF, career-connected education creates moments like this: real experiences, real role models and a glimpse of what’s possible when you can see a path forward.

Help create more moments that can shape a student’s future: https://go.naf.org/4hfmDOO

09/28/2026

This is what career-connected learning looks like. ✈️🌍

Students in NAF Academies of Hospitality & Tourism gain hands-on experience, explore the people and places behind the industry, and build the professional skills that set them up for career success. From event planning to guest services to global tourism, they're not just learning about hospitality, they're discovering where it can take them.

💡 Link in comments to discover more.

09/24/2026

but make it KnoPro... 🎧💻

Three years of providing high school students with opportunities to tackle real-world challenges, build career-ready skills, and turn their ideas into action.

Take a look back at KnoPro's impact and drop 💙 in comments in you use in your classroom!

09/23/2026

🎉 is celebrating 3 years!

In 2023, we launched KnoPro to provide the 98% of high school students who never complete an internship the opportunity to build a resume-worthy work-based learning experience before graduation.

Today, KnoPro supports over 60,000 students and teachers across all 50 states and additional U.S. territories.

Through Challenges sponsored by industry leaders and daily Skillbuilders, students are building products, developing businesses, designing marketing campaigns, and tackling real-world problems while developing skills they can carry into their futures.

Read more in our latest future-ready blog: https://go.naf.org/4hoZ9pt

09/21/2026

Submissions are officially open for the Aerospace Engineering: Next-Gen Flight Challenge, sponsored by RTX. If you know high school students that are looking to build real-world skills and a stronger resume, this is a great one for them to join. They'll design solutions for the future of flight and compete for $10,000 in prizes, now through Oct. 25. Learn more: https://go.naf.org/3TceGAT

09/17/2026

A new school year brings new opportunities across the NAF network. ✨

As students settle in, educators across the network are helping young people to discover their strengths, explore what’s possible, and take meaningful steps toward their futures. This year, that work continues with new and refreshed courses and student resources, Fall KnoPro challenges, and opportunities to celebrate our academies.

In our newest Future Ready blog, NAF CEO Lisa Dughi looks ahead to the school year and shares a message of appreciation for the educators who make these experiences possible.

Read the full blog. 🔗 Link in comments.

09/15/2026

Meet Alyson Edge, former NAF Academy Director at Burbank Unified School District in Burbank, California. Over her 30-year career, Alyson expanded career-connected learning across Burbank’s Business, Engineering, and Medical Academies and founded the distinguished Burbank High School Business Academy, giving students hands-on experiences that prepared them for college and careers.

Through experiences in financial literacy, business planning, stock market simulations and community partnerships, Alyson helped students build real-world skills and confidence for what comes next.

“Alyson’s visionary leadership, program innovation, commitment to college and career readiness, and deep investment in student development make her an exemplary NAF leader whose work has left a lasting positive impact on students, educators, and the broader community.” - Arin Movsessian, NAF Director, Burbank Unified School District

Thank you, Alyson, for three decades of leadership and for creating opportunities that continue to make a difference for students.

🎉 Join us in celebrating Alyson in the comments!

09/10/2026

Taking notes because some of these orders might make it into our next coffee run. 📝☕️🍵

We got the go-to drink orders from NAF educators at 2026.

What’s your coffee order? 👀

09/08/2026

Right now, students across the country are going back to school — or stepping onto campus for the very first time as freshmen. Show them you’ve got their backs and you’re proud of them! Your gift will be matched to kick off an A+ school year, creating opportunities that connect learning to real careers and preparing students for bright futures. https://go.naf.org/4hfmDOO

Address

169 MADISON Avenue, SUITE 2797
New York, NY
10016

Website

http://www.NAF.org/, http://www.youtube.com/NAFNYC, http://x.com/NAFCareerAcads, https://tiktok.com/@nafcareeracads

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