Posted on December 4, 2006

Broad Foundation Awards $10.5 Million to Green Dot Public Schools

Green Dot Public Schools, a leading public charter school operator and developer in Los Angeles, has announced a $10.5 million grant from the Broad Foundation to create twenty-one small high schools in Los Angeles over the next four years.

The largest single private grant ever awarded for public charter schools in California will be used to serve students in some of the most overcrowded and poorest-performing high schools in the city. Green Dot, which currently operates ten high schools in Los Angeles, is working with the Los Angeles Unified School District and Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to transform under-performing pubic high schools into small, safe schools designed to increase student achievement and foster greater parent, educator, and community participation.

"There is no reason why every child living in Los Angeles shouldn't be afforded the best education in this country," said Green Dot founder and CEO Steve Barr. "With [the foundation's] generous support, we will be able to improve the lives of thousands of children and lend our model to help transform education across the city. We ask other business and community leaders and stakeholders to join us and with their support make this dream a reality."