Posted on January 22, 2008

Broad Foundation Awards $23.3 Million for L.A. Charter Schools

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation has announced grants totaling $23.3 million to expand the operations of three Los Angeles charter schools.

The grants include $12 million to the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) to open four new open-enrollment schools — two elementary schools and two middle schools — by 2010 in underserved areas of the city; $5 million to Aspire Public Schools to open thirteen new schools over the next four years, including several new elementary and middle schools in areas that currently have long waiting lists for charter schools; and $333,000 to Pacific Charter School Development, Inc. for operations and a $6 million interest-free loan to help create more than six thousand state-of-the-art campus seats in the city's most underserved neighborhoods over the next decade.

With the grants, the Broad Foundation has awarded a total of almost $90 million for charter schools nationwide, including $56 million in Los Angeles County. In 2006, the foundation awarded $10.5 million to Green Dot Public Schools to open twenty-one small high schools in Los Angeles by 2010, while last year the foundation awarded $6.5 million to the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools to open nine high schools and four middle schools.

"High-quality public charter schools in Los Angeles are showing dramatic results in improving student achievement, and we need to do what we can to make sure the best models are available to as many students as possible," said Eli Broad. "Successful charter schools, like KIPP and Aspire Public Schools, have already set the platinum standard in education in Los Angeles, and developers like Pacific Charter School Development are enabling these schools to use their resources for students rather than facilities."