The Bush Foundation in St. Paul has announced grants totaling $22.9 million in support of efforts to improve postsecondary success for students of all backgrounds in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and the twenty-three Native nations that share the same geography.

The grants, the result of a year-long effort to identify new opportunities for the foundation to make a positive impact in the field of postsecondary success, will be used to advance strategies with a proven record of success and to launch new ideas with the potential to transform education in the region. They include $4 million over four years to Technology & Innovation in Education, a division of the Black Hills Special Services Cooperative, in support of efforts to implement customized learning strategies and increase student engagement in South Dakota; and $1 million over three years to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to create a Lakota/Dakota language institute on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation.

Additional grants include $3 million over three years in support of a partnership between Generation Next and Think Small to equip childcare providers in Minnesota's Hennepin and Ramsey counties with training and resources that can help advance the quality of care they provide; $3 million over three years to Minnesota Comeback to create a fund that supports efforts to ensure students from all backgrounds have access to high-quality schools; $2 million over three years to Teach for America-South Dakota to boost the number of culturally relevant teachers serving Native students in tribal communities in South Dakota; and $2 million over four years to AVID to partner with schools in southern Minnesota and the Bismarck/Mandan region of North Dakota to expand its nationally recognized college preparation program.

"The staff will be working over the next few months to clarify what types of investments we will be looking to make in future years," said Bush Foundation chair Pam Moret. "There is particular interest in efforts to make education more relevant for students — relevant in terms of who they are, how they learn, and what they aspire to do. At the end of the day, our focus is to help all students gain the skills they need to achieve their career and life ambitions."