Volume I begins October 15, 2026
Your story starts here.
College and career readiness and an empowerment track for teens, young adults, and adult men and women, in Dallas and live online nationwide.
- Teens and young adults
- In person in Dallas
- Live online nationwide
What we do
A real person beside you.
Getting to college or into a career is not one decision. It is a hundred small ones, and most students make them without a guide. Foreword Forum puts a real person beside you for the whole stretch: the applications, the essays, the money conversations, the interview you are nervous about, and the first job after. We are coed, we are practical, and we start where you actually are.
Who runs it
Educator & Strategic Leader
Jessica D. Maine-Jackson
Founder
Jessica D. Maine-Jackson began in corporate leadership, then moved into the classroom. Over 14 years in public education she grew into campus and district leadership and served as an educational consultant to Dallas ISD. From there she turned to entrepreneurship, for the chance to make a more significant impact.
Foreword Forum brings all of that experience together into the resource she saw young people needed: real access to the knowledge, guidance, and support that turn a plan into a next step.
- 100%
- of participating students graduated and were accepted to college
- 81%
- were awarded scholarships
- $1M+
- in scholarship awards
Programs
Two tracks to choose from.
The readiness track
First Draft
For teens and young adults
Our college and career readiness track: college and job applications, essays, resumes, interviews, financial aid and FAFSA, and test prep, plus a plan for what comes after graduation, whether that is a four-year school, a two-year school, a trade, or work.
The empowerment track
Speak Volumes
For teens, young adults, and adult men and women
Our empowerment track for teens, young adults, and adult men and women. Coaching and mentoring for confidence, communication, and personal and professional goals, the skills that do not appear on a transcript or a resume but shape what comes next.
Both tracks follow the same seven chapters, from intake to a plan you carry forward.
See how it worksHow it works
How a Volume works.
Join a Volume.
Every cohort is a Volume, small enough that we know your name.
Meet your Co-Author.
You are paired with a near-peer mentor who has walked the road recently.
Build your plan.
You leave with a written next step, not a pep talk.
Keep the door open.
Volumes stay connected after the program ends.
Volume I
Volume I begins October 15.
Our first cohort begins October 15, 2026, in Dallas and online. Space is intentionally limited. Join the waitlist and we will reach out with enrollment details.
Seats are available through Foreword Forum Prep, and Foreword Forum Foundation funds scholarship seats as funding allows, so cost is not the reason a student sits this out.
Join the waitlist- Begins
- October 15, 2026
- Where
- Dallas and live online
- Size
- Intentionally limited
- Seats
- Paid and scholarship
Support us
Help open someone's first chapter.
Foreword Forum Foundation is powered by people who believe a student's opening chapter should not depend on their zip code. Join the Publishers' Circle, or give to The Next Page Fund, which covers program costs for students who need it.
Waitlist
Write your next chapter.
Join the list for Volume I and for Between the Lines, our monthly newsletter.