Diplomas Now Wins $30 Million Education Department Grant

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Aug 11, 2010, 04:03 ET

The U.S. Department of Education's Investing In Innovation (i3) Fund Ranks School Turnaround

Initiative Among 15 Winners of Validation Grants

BALTIMORE, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Fund (referred to as i3) gave its "highest ranking" to the Talent Development - Diplomas Now application from the Center for Social Organization of Schools at Johns Hopkins University in partnership with City Year, Communities In Schools, and 14 school districts.

The application is among one of 15 highest-rated applications in the Validation category of the i3 competition, which had more than 1,700 applicants. The priority area for the Diplomas Now application was "persistently low-performing schools."

Diplomas Now is a partnership of Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Organization of Schools/Talent Development, City Year, and Communities In Schools.

PepsiCo Foundation is the founding investor of Diplomas Now, granting $11 million since 2008. Through PepsiCo, the partnership has secured the 20% matching funds required by the Department of Education for the grant to be formally awarded.

Diplomas Now is a school turnaround model that unites three experienced non-profit organizations to work with the nation's most-challenged middle and high schools to increase the number of students who graduate from high school.

The funding will allow Diplomas Now to grow to an additional 60 middle and high schools in 14 school districts, to serve an anticipated 57,000 additional students.

During the 2009-2010 school year, Diplomas Now worked in schools in the School District of Philadelphia, New Orleans-Recovery School District, the San Antonio Independent School District, the Chicago Public Schools and Chicago's Union Park High Schools, and the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. In the 2010-2011 academic year, the program will expand to Seattle Public Schools, Miami- Dade County (Fla.)Public Schools, the District of Columbia Public Schools, Detroit Public Schools, and the Richland County School District One of Columbia, S.C.

Diplomas Now is rooted in research from Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Organization of Schools and the Philadelphia Education Fund that identified three predictive dropout indicators: low attendance, poor behavior, and course failure in English or math. In partnership with school administrators and teachers, Diplomas Now works to eliminate these early warning indicators through whole school reform (Talent Development), integrated student supports (Communities In Schools) and deploying national service members as full-time tutors, mentors and role models (City Year AmeriCorps members).

Quotes

Arne Duncan, Secretary of the Department of Education (from DOE release):

"All across America, innovative entrepreneurs are finding solutions to our most pressing educational challenges. i3 will support creative thinkers who test good ideas and take proven approaches to scale so that more children can benefit."

Indra K. Nooyi, PepsiCo chairman and chief executive officer and chairman of PepsiCo Foundation:

"As the founding investor in Diplomas Now, The PepsiCo Foundation is especially pleased by the Department of Education's decision to validate the innovative and groundbreaking program with its prestigious i3 grant. We believe in the promise of Diplomas Now, and know that this grant will enable the program to make a difference in the lives of our nation's youth on a scale that has not been attainable before."

Robert Balfanz, senior researcher and director, Talent Development secondary and the Everyone Graduates Center, Johns Hopkins University:

"This i3 grant is a tremendous vote of confidence in an innovation that shows great promise. To solve the dropout crisis, we need a game-changing strategy, one that is strong enough and broad enough to turn around the most-challenged schools. With its research base, the proven track records of our three organizations and the commitment of more adults to schools, Diplomas Now is such a strategy. We are grateful to the PepsiCo Foundation for its early and continuing support, including the matching funds that will help us expand Diplomas Now, giving new hope to some of the country's most high-risk students."

Daniel J. Cardinali, President, Communities In Schools:

"The Diplomas Now partnership of Talent Development, City Year and Communities In Schools is a highly innovative approach to school turnaround in some of the nation's most challenged middle and high schools. Communities In Schools is pleased to bring our evidence-based approach to integrated student services to this partnership, and we're grateful for the opportunity to serve more students through the i3 Validation award."

Jim Balfanz, President, City Year:

"The success of Diplomas Now demonstrates the power of collaboration - our work with our partners and with schools across the country brings a new approach to school turnaround that yields results. The i3 Validation award will help us work with more schools and cities to ensure that all students receive the necessary supports to graduate ready for college and a career."

For more information

Executive Summary of the Diplomas Now i3 grant application from the Department of Education.

i3 Application Abstract: Validating the Talent Development-Diplomas Now Secondary School Turnaround Model, including a list of additional strategic partners.

FAQ on announcement of the i3 grant awards from the Department of Education.

Background on the i3 grant application review process by the Department of Education.

Education Week's summary of the highest-rated i3 applications.

Diplomas Now: A Secondary School Turnaround Model (video) presents the Diplomas Now approach and its impact in high-poverty schools.

Diplomas Now program results are available here.

About the Diplomas Now Partners

Talent Development is a program at Johns Hopkins University that specializes in research and comprehensive school reform models to address the needs of low-performing schools and their students. Talent Development middle and high school programs specialize in organizational and curricular reforms and teacher support and professional development to improve instruction and climate to make the whole school a better place to learn. http://www.talentdevelopmentschools.com

City Year is an AmeriCorps program that unites diverse young leaders for a year of full-time service. City Year corps members are trained to work in underserved schools to provide targeted academic and school-wide interventions to help students get on track and stay on track to graduate. As tutors, mentors and role models, City Year corps members have an impact on the lives of children and transform neighborhoods across the United States, as well as through international affiliates in Johannesburg, South Africa and London, England. http://www.cityyear.org.

Communities In Schools surrounds students with a community of support, empowering them to stay in school and achieve in life. Through a school-based coordinator, Communities In Schools connects students and their families to critical community resources, tailored to local needs. Working in more than 3,200 schools, in the most challenged communities, in 26 states, and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves nearly 1.4 million young people and their families every year.

Communities In Schools has become the nation's leading dropout prevention organization, and the only one proven to both decrease dropout rates and increase graduation rates. http://communitiesinschools.org

PepsiCo Foundation, established in 1962, is the philanthropic anchor of PepsiCo, providing charitable contributions to eligible non-profit organizations in the health, environment and education fields. In 2009 alone, PepsiCo Foundation contributed $27.9 million toward programs to help achieve the vision of creating a better tomorrow for the global community. Since the 1950s, PepsiCo has been dedicated to funding educational programs for the underserved, and PepsiCo Foundation currently has more than $12.5 million committed to this cause. Diplomas Now is one of PepsiCo Foundation's signature programs. http://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/PepsiCo-Foundation.aspx.

PepsiCo offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in more than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly $60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. For more information, please visit http://www.pepsico.com.

SOURCE Communities In Schools