Why we’re investing in organizations focused on Equitable Education Recovery

As we prepare to introduce you to the 24 organizations and leaders that make up our first ever Equitable Education Recovery Initiative cohort, we invite you to reorient yourself to this emerging work and get closer to the "why" behind the work.

March 21, 2022 | New Profit, Admin

The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified the inequities of our education system. While children in almost all schools are behind, McKinsey & Company reports that students in predominantly Black schools ended the 2020-2021 school year 6 months behind in math and reading, and students in predominantly Hispanic schools ended the year 6 months behind in math and 5 months behind in reading. This is in contrast with students in predominantly white schools who ended the school year 4 months behind in math and 3 months behind in reading. Similarly, students in predominantly lower-income schools finished the school year 7 months behind in math and 6 months behind in reading, compared with students in higher-income schools who finished the school year 4 months behind in math and 3 months behind in reading.

As states and districts work to support education recovery drawing from unprecedented federal funding, we recognize that there is an incredible and urgent opportunity to elevate and expand programs with the most potential to have meaningful impact on our K-12 students not just for short-term recovery, but also for long-term necessary transformations of our education systems in service of equity. We know many community-based organizations are deeply embedded in their localities and are well-positioned to co-create programs that will meet the needs of their students, particularly those who have historically been underserved by our system—the same students for whom the pandemic has had the most detrimental impact.

To that end, we will soon announce the launch of our Equitable Education Recovery Initiative. This initiative will provide $200K in catalytic, unrestricted funding to 24 organizations working across three geographies (Fresno/Oakland/Sacramento, Denver Metro, and Memphis/Nashville), focusing on math/ELA tutoring, whole child supports, and/or postsecondary advising to K-12 students.

Stay tuned for this huge announcement of the cohort launch set to be made in early April 2022!