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The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation Awards $23.3 Million to Grow Quality Public Charter Schools in Los Angeles

Posted on: Thursday, 17 January 2008, 15:00 CST

The charter school movement in Los Angeles received a $23.3 million boost today from The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation through new grants to three leading charter school organizations: KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program), Aspire Public Schools and Pacific Charter School Development, Inc. These grants bring the total Broad Foundation investment in Los Angeles charters -- that will serve 25,000 total students -- to $56 million since 2000.

"High-quality public charter schools in Los Angeles are showing dramatic results in improving student achievement, and we need to do what we can to make sure the best models are available to as many students as possible," said Eli Broad, founder of The Broad (rhymes with "road") Foundation. "Successful charter schools, like KIPP and Aspire Public Schools, have already set the platinum standard in education in Los Angeles, and developers like Pacific Charter School Development are enabling these schools to use their resources for students rather than facilities."

The $23.3 million in grants breaks down as follows:

KIPP will receive $12 million to expand open-enrollment KIPP public charter schools in Los Angeles from two to six by 2010, including two new KIPP elementary schools and two new KIPP middle schools in underserved areas of Los Angeles. With these funds, KIPP plans to serve a total of more than 2,000 Los Angeles students in kindergarten through eighth grade by 2013.

Aspire Public Schools will receive $5 million to open 13 new, high-quality, public charter schools in Los Angeles over the next four years, including several new elementary and middle schools in Huntington Park and Carson, areas that currently have lengthy waiting lists for charter schools. The new funds will bring to 16 the total number of Aspire schools in Los Angeles by 2011 that will serve 5,600 K-12 students.

Pacific Charter School Development, Inc. will receive a $6 million interest-free loan to leverage more than $30 million in project financing to create more than 6,000 new, state-of-the-art campus seats in Los Angeles' most underserved neighborhoods in the next 10 years. PCSD will also receive $333,000 for operations.

"Eli Broad is upping the ante in Los Angeles for high-quality public charter schools, and all of our students are being dealt a winning hand," said Los Angeles Deputy Mayor for Education, Youth and Families Ray Cortines, who spoke at the announcement event. "Los Angelenos will benefit for a long time to come from this generous investment."

KIPP currently operates two schools in Los Angeles: KIPP Academy of Opportunity in South Los Angeles, where a press conference was held today to announce the grants, and KIPP L.A. Prep in Lincoln Heights. Both opened in 2003 and now serve more than 700 students -- 80 percent low-income and 95 percent African-American or Hispanic/Latino. While most students enter the KIPP Los Angeles schools two grade levels behind, on state assessments during the 2006-2007 school year, KIPP Academy of Opportunity students outperformed their Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) counterparts in fifth through eighth grade English-language arts, and in sixth, seventh and eighth grade math.

"We are deeply grateful for the generosity of The Broad Foundation," said KIPP CEO Richard Barth. "This critical investment in the future growth of KIPP L.A. will allow us to put more underserved young Los Angelenos on the path to college and a better future."

Aspire Public Schools currently operates three schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District: Centennial College Preparatory Academy, Antonio Maria Lugo Academy, and a newly opened elementary school authorized by the State Board of Education, all in Huntington Park. These schools serve more than 900 students -- 97 percent low-income and 99 percent Hispanic/Latino or African-American. Aspire schools throughout California are in low-income areas with large minority populations and are outperforming surrounding schools statewide. In 2006, Aspire schools improved 45 points on average, 10 times the state's targets and four times the state's growth. Although only 44 percent of underserved students graduate high school in the state, Aspire graduates 98 percent of its students.

"With the support of The Broad Foundation, Aspire can offer many more students and families access to our rigorous approach to learning and our `College for Certain' commitment," said Don Shalvey, Aspire Public Schools' CEO and co-founder. "We are proud that parents are choosing Aspire to take their children from kindergarten through college in greater and greater numbers. We are both humbled by their support and extremely excited to bring choice to more families in Los Angeles."

Both of these charter operators use models proven to raise student achievement. For example, Aspire Public Schools offers small schools with personalized learning experiences where students master basic skills, develop productive life skills, and acquire thinking skills needed in the rigorous modern work world. KIPP provides students a safe and structured learning environment that prepares underserved students for success in college and life, including a longer school day from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., two Saturdays a month and three weeks in the summer. KIPP balances rigorous instruction in core academic subjects with extracurricular activities. Both organizations were recognized this year by Fast Company magazine as "social entrepreneurs changing the world."

As a charter school developer, PCSD develops school facilities for substantially less than charter school operators are able to on their own, saving schools money that can be used towards teaching and learning. PCSD locates, finances, builds (or retrofits) and then leases state-of-the-art academic campuses to preeminent California charter school operators, working with charter school leaders to eventually sell campuses to the schools. To date, the average PCSD cost to create a new charter school seat has been less than $14,000, while the annual expense to the schools has been less than 11 percent of their operating budgets, or 50 percent less than what charter schools would typically pay on their own.

"Thanks to the steadfast support of The Broad Foundation, Pacific Charter School Development, Inc. is well on its way to creating over 15,000 new charter school seats in the next few years," said Glenn Pierce, CEO of Pacific. "We are proud to help support our partner charter management organizations, some of the highest performing in the country, in serving families and communities with the greatest educational needs."

In the past eight years, The Broad Foundation has invested nearly $90 million to support the growth of charter schools in a small number of cities, including Los Angeles, New York City, Oakland and Philadelphia. Of The Broad Foundation's total investment in charter schools, $56 million is in Los Angeles. In 2006, The Broad Foundation announced a $10.5 million grant to Green Dot Public Schools to open 21 new small high schools in Los Angeles by 2010, and last year, the Foundation announced an investment of $6.5 million to the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools to support the opening of nine new high schools and four new middle schools.

"The expansion of KIPP, Aspire Public Schools and PCSD is an important step for Los Angeles to raise student achievement," said Caprice Young, president and CEO of the California Charter Schools Association. "Our ability to replicate high-quality charter schools is fundamental to giving families in Los Angeles more options and more opportunities for success."

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation is a national venture philanthropy established by entrepreneur and philanthropist Eli Broad to advance entrepreneurship for the public good in education, science and the arts. The Broad Foundation's education work is focused on dramatically improving urban K-12 public education through better governance, management, labor relations and competition. The Broad Foundation's Internet address is www.broadfoundation.org.

Pacific Charter School Development, Inc. (PCSD), a 501(c)(3), serves as a critical facility-providing bridge to develop new, neighborhood charter schools in inner cities. PCSD is dedicated to providing California's most underserved students with the quality campuses and classrooms they deserve. Learn more at www.pacificcharter.org.

Aspire Public Schools is a non-profit organization that builds and operates high-quality public charter schools to prepare urban students for college. Aspire, a leader within the California charter school movement, is one of only two charter management organizations in the state to be awarded advance approval to open schools throughout the state under the authority and oversight of the California State Board of Education. Aspire is also a four-time winner of the Fast Company/Monitor Group's Social Capitalist Award as an organization that is "changing the world." Aspire's 21 schools, which have received a 92 percent parental approval rating, serve over 5,600 students across California and have lengthy waiting lists. Learn more at www.aspirepublicschools.org.

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States. There are currently 57 locally-run KIPP schools in 17 states and Washington, DC, serving over 14,000 students. KIPP schools have been widely recognized for putting underserved students on the path to college. More than 80 percent of KIPP students are low-income and more than 90 percent are African-American or Hispanic/Latino. Nationally, nearly 80 percent of KIPP alumni have matriculated to college. Learn more at http://www.kipp.org.

Source: Business Wire

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