PHILADELPHIA, PA — Backed by a new grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Alliance for Decision Education is scaling its Media Literacy Incubator nationwide, aiming to equip thousands of middle and high school students with the skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex and fast-moving information environment.
The expansion moves the program from individual pilot schools to district-level implementation, marking a significant shift in reach and ambition. The initiative focuses on helping students critically evaluate media credibility, understand how information is produced and shared, and make informed decisions in a digital landscape shaped by social media, artificial intelligence, and constant information flow.
The Media Literacy Incubator is part of the Alliance’s broader Decision Education Incubator model, a field-tested approach that pairs educators with the organization to co-design and pilot instructional frameworks across subjects and grade levels. Under the Carnegie-supported expansion, participating districts will tailor the model to local needs while maintaining a consistent focus on decision-making and information evaluation.
Early results from pilot programs suggest the approach is gaining traction. Data from the 2024–2025 academic year showed participating students improved their ability to evaluate media sources by just over 36%, demonstrating stronger judgment around credibility and reliability. The cohort also recorded measurable gains in intellectual humility, indicating greater willingness to reassess beliefs when presented with new or conflicting evidence.
Alliance leaders say those outcomes highlight the urgency of expanding the program as students encounter a media landscape saturated with misinformation and AI-generated content.
David Samuelson, executive director of the Alliance for Decision Education, said the Carnegie grant represents a major milestone for the organization and will allow it to partner more deeply with school districts. He said the goal is not only to teach students how to analyze information, but also how to decide what to trust, share, and believe.
The expansion builds on earlier partnerships with schools in Illinois, North Carolina, Hawaii, and Maryland. By shifting to district-level adoption, the Alliance said it expects to significantly broaden its national footprint while preserving educator input and accessibility.
Carnegie officials framed the investment as part of a broader effort to strengthen democratic participation through education. Ambika Kapur, a program director for education at Carnegie Corporation of New York, said helping young people navigate today’s information environment is fundamental to a healthy democracy and that the grant is intended to support students in critically evaluating information and engaging with differing viewpoints.
The Alliance said the scaled rollout will reach classrooms nationwide over the coming years, positioning media literacy and decision education as core skills for students growing up in an AI-infused, media-driven world.
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