Jim Blew and Walton Family Foundation

Thank you Jim Blew and the Walton Family Foundation, once again leading the school reform charge:

 

Dear Friends,

Today, far too many students are failed by our public school system – particularly in low-income areas. Because the Walton Family Foundation is committed to transforming our nation's public school system into one that effectively serves all students, we believe it is imperative to invest in organizations that are giving parents access to high-quality choices for their children's education. When all parents have the ability to choose quality schools for their children, a competitive dynamic emerges that can inspire the broader public school system to improve, helping transform public education in our nation.

Driven by this belief, the Walton Family Foundation has announced plans to invest more than $25 million in the KIPP Foundation over the next five years. This grant will double the number of families that can choose high-performing KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program) schools for their children, enabling the network to serve 59,000 students within five years. More than 95 percent of students enrolled in KIPP schools are African American or Hispanic with more than 80 percent qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

As the largest charter management organization in the country, KIPP is empowering parents to choose high-performing charter schools – from Atlanta to Los Angeles, New Orleans to Newark, Massachusetts to Colorado. In each of the regions where KIPP operates schools, they are inserting competition into education, incentivizing broad innovation and improvements to our public education system.

We believe in KIPP's ability to close the achievement gap in the United States, to train future education leaders, and to replicate best practices across schools, regions and their entire network. With our deeply rooted commitment to ensuring that all parents have the ability to choose quality schools for their children, we are proud to invest in KIPP.

Sincerely,

Jim Blew
K-12 Education Reform Focus Area
Walton Family Foundation