New Profit Invests $1 Million in Equal Opportunity Schools
Equal Opportunity Schools envisions an education system where all students have equitable access to America’s most academically intense high school programs and thus succeed at the highest levels
January 21, 2021New Profit, a national venture philanthropy organization, announced that it will support Equal Opportunity Schools with $1 million in unrestricted funding and additional strategic support to help CEO Byron V. Garrett and his team expand the organization’s impact.
Equal Opportunity Schools works to improve the accessibility of advanced learning classes to students of color and low-income students. Participation in rigorous high school curricula, such as AP and IB courses, is highly correlated with future academic success both in college and beyond. While research shows that African-American, Hispanic, and low-income students are about as likely as their white or upper-income peers to attend schools that offer AP and IB courses, there is a significant gap in enrollment in these courses.
EOS provides tools such as a gaps chart analysis, equity pathways reports, beginning and end-of-year student/administrator surveys, and support to make equity and improved access to rigorous courses a district priority. Its flagship Action For Equity framework features Equity Leader Labs or full day professional learning experiences that deepen understanding of implicit bias, race and student experience with the goal of creating a customized equity plan with remote support from EOS.
Equal Opportunity Schools has an impressive track record, not just in creating more equitable access to AP and IB courses, but in fundamentally shifting how schools think about student potential. We are excited to be supporting Byron and the outstanding team he has assembled to expand the work of EOS.
Rooted in a core belief that students of color and low-income students are under-identified and under-engaged – not underprepared –the Equal Opportunity Schools program model uses non-traditional data on student capabilities and aspirations in combination with customized equity consulting for school leadership to increase access to rigorous coursework. Since inception, Equal Opportunity Schools has collaborated with more than 650 schools in 210+ districts across 33 states, enrolling 43,490 more students of color and low-income students in AP and IB courses.
As a national education-equity-focused nonprofit that is supported in part by grant funds, New Profit's donation is a game-changer. Thanks to this partnership, EOS can amplify our visibility as a national leader on race and equity in education as well as accelerate our pace to achieve our strategic goals and have an even greater impact on the lives of low-income and students of color across this country.
Over the next four years, in addition to the unrestricted grant, New Profit will partner with Equal Opportunity Schools on leadership and board development, and strategic planning for growth and impact, among other areas.
To learn more about Equal Opportunity Schools, please visit https://eoschools.org/