The Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation in Austin, Texas, have announced grants totaling more than $32 million to four organizations to expand efforts to raise achievement and graduation and college-readiness rates in New York City high schools.

According to a new report sponsored by the Gates Foundation, just five out of every ten New York City students graduate from high school in four years, and of those who do graduate only a third receive a Regents diploma showing they are prepared for college success. The report, Rethinking High School: Five Profiles of Innovative Models for Student Success, by WestEd, an education research organization, concluded that small high schools are effective in increasing student engagement and boosting student skills, particularly among the lowest-performing students.

The new grants announced by the two foundations will support the creation of thirty-five small high schools and the training of more than forty principals, with the goal of better preparing New York City youth for college and the 21st century economy. Among the grants announced was one of $11.9 million to the Washington, D.C.-based College Board to expand its College Board Schools Initiative in New York City to sixteen schools, and another of $3.6 million to the New York City-based New Leaders for New Schools to foster high levels of academic achievement by recruiting, training, placing, and supporting the next generation of principals for urban public schools. Additional grants were awarded to Boston-based New Visions for Public Schools ($9.5 million) and the New York City-based Urban Assembly ($7 million) to create twenty-five new small high schools.

"It's been our experience that high-quality small high schools are a critical component of district-wide reforms aimed at improving graduation rates and preparing students for the demands of today's economy," said Gates Foundation education program director Tom Vander Ark. "The success of these strong new high schools makes school choice a reality for New York City's children. Ultimately, these schools serve as a catalyst for reform throughout the system so all New York City students can graduate as strong citizens prepared for college and work."

For more information on the grants announced by the two foundations, see: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/TransformingHighSchools/
Announcements/Announce-050215.htm.

To download the complete report (56 pages, PDF), visit: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Education/TransformingHighSchools/
RelatedInfo/RethinkingHighSchool.htm.