Closing the Achievement Gap

A key path out of poverty is a quality education. Yet too many young people in the Bay Area, particularly those of color, do not have the opportunities to develop the skills and knowledge they need for success in life and in today’s competitive economy.

Since its founding in 1953, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund has been an active supporter of programs that provide young people with a strong start in life. In the last 15 years, the Fund played an important part in the growth of the youth development field in the Bay Area. We helped launch major initiatives to strengthen and expand after-school programs for children in low-income neighborhoods, including the San Francisco Beacon Initiative and Team-Up for Youth. We also spurred the development of youth leadership and advocacy programs, as well as the creation of neighborhood centers that provide critical supports to parents and their children.

Today, the Haas, Jr. Fund is building on its prior work by embracing an explicit commitment to leveling the playing field and expanding education opportunities for children and young adults. Working at both ends of the education system, we intend to support strategies designed to close the achievement gap that prevents students from making their way out of poverty and preparing for 21st-century jobs.

Starting in preschool, we are beginning to develop the partnerships and lay the groundwork to make sure children from the Bay Area’s poorest neighborhoods are reading and doing math at grade level by the end of third grade. At the same time, we are doing exploratory work to help local community colleges increase completion rates for those in greatest need, particularly immigrants, those of color and low-income students.

The Haas, Jr. Fund is in the process of developing program guidelines for this new line of work. Check back in Spring 2010 for more information about what we are focusing on, and how we might work together so that more children and young adults receive the high-quality education they deserve.

Over the past five years (2005-09), the Fund has made grants totaling nearly $20.3 million to improve education opportunities for children and young adults.