Kudos to the Gates Foundation!  (And aren't these statistics mind-bogglingly horrifying? "within a span of five years, 66 percent of high school students fail to complete high school and just one in 20 high school graduates earns a college degree.")

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will announce today a $122 million investment to create a new crop of high school and college scholars among some of the city's poorest and lowest-achieving students. It is the foundation's largest investment to date in D.C. education and one of the largest grants it has made for education.

More than 2,000 students will become D.C. Achievers over the next 15 years and receive college scholarships of up to $10,000 each a year for a maximum of five years. The money is meant to jump-start low high school and college graduation rates among students living in parts of Northeast and Southeast Washington, where statistics show that within a span of five years, 66 percent of high school students fail to complete high school and just one in 20 high school graduates earns a college degree.

The grant is a monumental leap from the $4.8 million the foundation awarded the D.C. public schools last fall for several low-performing schools and smaller investments in years past at some charter schools.

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Gates Foundation to Give D.C. Students Push to College

Planned $122 Million Program Would Supply Mentors for Thousands in Poorest Wards

By Theola Labb?

Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 22, 2007; Page A01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/21/AR2007032102168.html

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will announce today a $122 million investment to create a new crop of high school and college scholars among some of the city's poorest and lowest-achieving students. It is the foundation's largest investment to date in D.C. education and one of the largest grants it has made for education.