Green Dot to Open 10 New College-Prep High Schools in Watts

LOS ANGELES -- Green Dot Public Schools today announced a $7.8 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to open 10 new high schools in the community served by Alain Leroy Locke Senior High School in Watts. This investment builds upon a September 2006 grant of $1.8 million for five charter high schools surrounding Jefferson High School, also in south Los Angeles.

The 10 new schools will double the number of Green Dot schools in the district, providing more high-quality educational options for students and parents in disadvantaged communities. California Department of Education data indicates only about 25 percent of 9th graders entering Locke graduate on time, and according to research by UCLA/IDEA less than five percent attend four-year colleges. By challenging students academically and supporting them to meet their goals, Green Dot expects to create a new culture of high expectations that will prepare all students for college, career, and life.

“Green Dot and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation share the belief that the children of Watts and Los Angeles deserve the best public schools,” said Steve Barr, CEO and founder of Green Dot Public Schools. “This grant not only supports our proven education model, but serves as a clarion call to accelerate bold reform at public schools across the city. When teachers, parents, students and community leaders work together, bold reform can happen.”

The Green Dot model has a track record of success, improving student achievement as well as graduation and college acceptance rates. Academic Performance Index (API) results for 2006 showed that four out of five Green Dot High Schools earned ratings of 700 or higher while the average comparable Los Angeles Unified School District schools in the same communities scored an average of 140 points lower.

This year, 80 percent of Green Dot students graduated on time. Over 90 percent of Green Dot graduates will attend college in the fall, with two out of three having been admitted to four-year universities. By contrast, according to EducationWeek’s Diplomas Count report, only 45.3 percent of LAUSD high school students graduated on-time in 2004, the most recent year of data available. Research by UCLA/IDEA further estimated that less than one in four district graduates will attend a four-year college.

“This generous grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation represents the best in philanthropy,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “All of our children deserve a quality education, and by supporting Green Dot Public Schools in Watts, this grant will provide hope and opportunity to the students who need it the most.”

“We are excited to know that parents, teachers, philanthropic and educational leaders have come together to support a bold plan for turning around Locke High School,” said Monica Garcia, the newly elected President of the Los Angeles School Board. “We must implement innovative strategies for improving academic achievement at all of our schools, so that we can move closer to 100 percent graduation.”

Green Dot’s success is rooted in its “Six Tenets of High-Performing Schools” that call for schools to: 1) be safer and no larger than 500 students each; 2) have high expectations for every student, most notably by implementing a college preparatory curriculum for all students; 3) empower principals, teachers, parents and students to own all key decisions related to budgets, curriculum and hiring; 4) maximize funding to the classroom and significantly increase teacher pay; 5) value and support parent participation; 6) stay open later for community use. 

This latest investment also will help strengthen Green Dot’s home office, building its capacity to provide additional coaching and training to teachers and principals in the new schools; deepen curriculum development; and develop specialized courses for students with special needs. Green Dot currently operates 10 high schools in the Los Angeles area.

“Too few students in the U.S. get the high-quality education they deserve,” said Steve Seleznow, program director for education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. “By growing its network of high schools, Green Dot has a unique opportunity to strengthen partnerships across the city and provide more students with the skills and knowledge they need for college and work success.” 

Nationally, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its partners are focused on increasing graduation and college readiness rates by supporting the creation of new high-quality high schools and the transformation of existing low-performing high schools into more focused and effective learning environments. To date, the foundation has invested more than $1.7 billion to improve high schools, supporting more than 1,800 schools in 47 states and the District of Columbia. Since 2000, the foundation has invested more than $45 million in the Los Angeles region to open new high schools and strengthen existing ones.

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About Green Dot Public Schools
Green Dot Public Schools is the leading organization working toward the transformation of public education in Los Angeles. It operates small, successful public high schools and seeks to help empower communities in order to improve their schools. It currently operates 10 public charter high schools in Los Angeles’ highest need communities that vastly outperform comparable traditional public high schools. Every Green Dot school carries the brand name “Ánimo”, a Spanish word meaning “vigor, spirit, and the courage to overcome odds.”