KIPP Foundation Receives $499,000 Grant for KIPP Through College Program

College counseling program to receive new funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

NEW YORK, NY, Tuesday, August 28 — Today, the KIPP Foundation announced it is the recipient of a $499,000 award from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the Networks for School Improvement (NSI) grant program, which aims to help groups of middle and high schools solve common problems and improve student outcomes. KIPP is one of 19 organizations receiving funding through the NSI program today.

The KIPP Foundation will use the NSI funding to provide professional development, tools and support to KIPP’s network of college counselors and high school academic leaders as they work to improve academic and college outcomes for KIPP high school students. The grant will support KIPP counselors and leaders as they help students prepare for college, apply to colleges or post-secondary programs that meet their career goals, and make strong transitions after high school. Eighty-five percent of KIPP students are from low-income families and 95 percent of KIPP students are African American or Hispanic.

Thirty KIPP high schools in 22 cities will participate in programs supported by this grant, including: Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; Blytheville, AR; Columbus, OH; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Helena, AR; Houston, TX; Lynn, MA; Memphis, TN; Nashville, TN; Newark, NJ; New Orleans, LA; New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA; St. Louis, MO; San Antonio, TX; San Francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; San Lorenzo, CA; Tulsa, OK; and Washington, DC.

KIPP prepares its students for college and strong post-secondary options as part of their commitment to empower them with the academic skills and character strengths needed to lead choice-filled lives. KIPP’s students’ national bachelor’s degree completion rate is 36 percent, which is comparable to the national average for all students, and approximately three times the national average for students from low-income families (about 12 percent).

Nationally, the NSI grant program from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supports the creation of Networks for School Improvement, groups of middle or high schools working with a local intermediary organization to increase the number of Black, Latino, and low-income students who earn a college diploma or post-secondary degree.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” said Richard Barth, CEO of the KIPP Foundation. “This grant will enable so many of our regions to learn from one another and from educators outside of KIPP as they work to improve academic and college counseling practices and will ensure more young people are graduating from high school prepared for success in college and careers.”

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KIPP High Schools Participating in Programs Supported by NSI Grant

Contact:
Steve Mancini
KIPP Foundation
(415) 531-5396
smancini@kipp.org