Mission and Overview
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation’s mission is to dramatically transform urban K-12 public education through better governance, management, labor relations and competition. |
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation is a national entrepreneurial philanthropy that seeks to dramatically transform American urban public education so that all children receive the skills and knowledge to succeed in college, careers and life. We are losing a generation of American minds. American students are not learning the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s world. Today, 70 percent of our eighth graders are not proficient in reading and most of them will never catch up. Some 1.1 million American high school students drop out every year. Children need knowledge and life-skills to be prepared for life. Adults have an obligation to help children—all children—learn and be prepared for life. Educated people make better neighbors, colleagues, parents and responsible citizens. Quality education is an American “right,” and our children deserve nothing less. The state of education in America is disappointing and embarrassing. While we continue to spend more money each year on education, we are losing more and more American students. While we agree that no American student should be left out, written off or ignored, far too many of our poorest and minority students today still lack adequate resources to learn. Education is an American issue that affects us all. Jobs are leaving this country and American employers say that students today lack the basic skills to do even the simplest jobs. Without dramatic changes, the U.S. economy will continue to suffer, crime will go up and our children won’t be able to find a job or afford a house. Education is an issue that affects our national strength and security. If we do not create dramatically new opportunities to educate our youth, our standard of living will decline, our democracy will be at risk and we will continue to fall behind as other countries surpass us. Our investments. Since 1999, The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has provided nearly $400 million to significantly improve student achievement in urban areas by creating and supporting strong leadership, school district efficiency, competition, best practices and teacher quality. Value added. We focus on improving urban school districts because they serve one of every four American children. These districts are currently among the most under-performing and represent the greatest opportunity to dramatically improve student achievement. We also invest in specific areas where we believe we can provide value to the field, based on our views that:
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 Related Links:Flagship Initiatives Learn more about the foundation's flagship initiatives Our Investments View the foundation's current investments |