The Institute for Research and Reform in Education in Toms River, New Jersey, has announced a $3.8 million gift from the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help school districts transform struggling high schools into places where all students can succeed.

While many elementary schools have succeeded in raising levels of student achievement, efforts to reform high schools have largely failed. As a result, some 32 percent of high school students leave school without graduating, a figure that jumps to 50 percent for African Americans and 47 percent for Hispanics. The grant will enable IRRE to expand its First Things First reform initiative, which currently is operating in eight districts encompassing seventy schools; develop tools for reform-minded school leaders; and conduct research on practices that increase student achievement.

"The economic and civic health of our nation is at risk unless we do a better job of preparing all of our young people for college and work," said Tom Vander Ark, the Gates Foundation' executive director of education. "With a strong track record to date, IRRE is in a position to play an important role in improving our nation's high schools."