Middle School

The Foundation’s Young Scholars Pipeline Grants support organizations across the country that offer exceptional middle-school students with financial need the chance to develop their talents and deepen their academic interests.  These leading educational innovators have developed model services and programs to help low- to moderate-income students realize the highest levels of academic achievement.  In addition to supporting these services for exceptional low-income students, the Foundation encourages each grantee to identify outstanding prospective candidates for the Foundation’s Young Scholars Program. 
 

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP)

The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in low-income communities throughout the United States. There are currently 57 locally run KIPP schools in 17 states and Washington, DC, which collectively serve more than 14,000 students.

KIPP schools have been widely recognized for accelerating learning of middle school students, allowing many to achieve advanced levels in reading and math.  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.

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Breakthrough Collaborative

Breakthrough Collaborative is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing educational opportunities for high-potential, low-income middle-school students, and to inspiring outstanding college and high-school students to pursue careers in education. 

Founded in 1978, Breakthrough serves more than 2,500 middle-school students, provides college readiness programming to 2,000 high school students, and trains 700 college and high-school students as teachers in 34 Breakthrough sites across the country.  More than 89 percent of Breakthrough’s participants are students of color, 65 percent qualify for free- or reduced-lunch programs, and most will be the first in their families to attend college.  By the year 2012, Breakthrough will double the number of students it serves annually by bringing its programs to new communities and expanding existing sites to serve more students.

Breakthrough’s innovative students-teaching-students model pairs middle-school students with college and high-school student mentors who serve as teachers and role models and provide real-life examples that it’s “cool to be smart.”  Full-time Breakthrough staff members cultivate relationships with the students, their families, and their public-school teachers, counselors, and principals to create a network of support for each individual student from middle school through college enrollment.

A study of Breakthrough students showed that they are more likely than the average student to take the advanced high school math and science classes tied to admission to and success during college. 82 percent of Breakthrough alumni have been accepted into college preparatory high school programs and 72 percent of Breakthrough mentors have gone on to pursue professional careers in education.


For more information about Breakthrough Collaborative, please visit www.breakthroughcollaborative.org.

Citizen Schools

Citizen Schools operates a national network of apprenticeship programs for middle-school students, connecting adult volunteers to young people in hands-on learning projects after school.  Founded in 1995, Citizen Schools’ innovative approach engages professionals in many fields to serve as “citizen teachers.”  The programs are designed to help students develop the academic and leadership skills necessary to excel in school, get into college, and become leaders in their careers and in their communities.

Today Citizen Schools operates in middle schools in six states, serving 3,800 kids in grades six through eight, and engaging 2,800 adult volunteers.  The unique after-school programs involve students in experience-based learning projects and team-building activities, as well as offer help with homework and academic mentoring.

Citizen Schools has a measurable impact on the academic success of its students. An independent evaluation reported that Citizen Schools’ students out-performed a matched comparison group on six out of seven metrics of school success and advancement.  Citizen Schools’ students are also significantly more likely than their peers to enroll in a high school with a strong track record of college preparation.  Among Citizen Schools’ students are many exceptionally promising lower-income students whose interaction with Citizen Schools has enabled them to emerge as top performers.
 
To learn more about Citizen Schools, please visit www.citizenschools.org.

Higher Achievement Program (HAP)

The Higher Achievement Program offers motivated middle-school students from under-served areas in the Washington, DC metropolitan area rigorous programs to prepare for entrance to challenging college preparatory high schools.  Held after school and during the summer, Higher Achievement helps 400 students each year achieve academic excellence.

Founded in 1975, Higher Achievement offers summer academies, after-school academies, and a high-school placement program, all designed to improve achievement in core subjects.  Students typically enter the program with an average grade point average of 2.3; after four years the average GPA rises to 3.8. 

To learn more about Higher Achievement, please visit www.higherachievement.org.

New Leaders for New Schools (NLNS)

New Leaders for New Schools is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring high achievement for all students by attracting and preparing great school leaders and supporting the performance of their schools.  Founded in 2000, NLNS established a comprehensive national recruitment and training program for principals that aggressively seeks out and screens outstanding candidates, provides them with both instructional and managerial training, offers a comprehensive residency, and supports them with on-the-job coaching, tools, resources, and professional development.

Today, NLNS’s unique program is successfully recruiting passionate and results-focused individuals to become urban public school principals. These exceptional leaders achieve demonstrable results:  approximately two-thirds of NLNS principals with two or more years of tenure produce greater student achievement gains than other principals in their districts. NLNS is also building a knowledge base and implementing training for its principals targeted to the needs of high-achieving, low-income students, and is encouraging its leaders to establish goals for increasing the number of these students that achieve high academic standards in their schools. The organization is working to transform urban schools in Baltimore, California's Bay Area, Chicago, Memphis, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York City, Prince George's County in Maryland, and Washington, DC, and has influenced urban education reform models nationally.

For more information about NLNS, please visit www.nlns.org.

Uncommon Schools, inc. (USI) 

Uncommon Schools, Inc. was founded to support the development of outstanding charter public schools. The organization represents an alliance of top-performing charter schools and provides them with resources and expertise to improve and streamline support services and to start new schools. 

USI’s coordinated approach is strongly focused on student achievement and a college preparatory curriculum.  Students at its established schools perform at or near the top in their cities and states on standardized tests.  USI provides curriculum materials, training, and assessment services to its network of schools to ensure academic rigor and high student performance.

USI’s first school, North Star Academy Charter School of Newark, opened its doors in 1997 and has since emerged as one of the most celebrated charter public schools in the nation. Today, USI operates ten schools in New York, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, with plans to grow to 35 schools throughout the Northeast.

For more information about USI, please visit www.uncommonschools.org.