Education

Equity in Education

Every child should have the educational resources to become a successful adult. Based on our belief that education is the best road out of poverty, the Mike & Gillian Goodrich Foundation supports a strong education pipeline to help children from birth to age 19 build the skills they need to be successful adults.

As our state continues to struggle with underperforming schools, particularly in urban areas and in the Black Belt, it is critical that we support new and innovative approaches to providing high-quality alternatives for children of color and those coming from struggling communities. These approaches must be research-based and proven to move children forward.

Support for K-12 education that increases student achievement is a priority for the Foundation.

A growing sector in providing high -quality educational opportunities is Alabama’s nascent public charter school sector. The Foundation supports the development of that sector through planning grants for new schools and through support of technical assistance providers like New Schools for Alabama.

The Foundation has identified several key outcomes that guide its grantmaking in public education:

1. More children enter kindergarten ready to learn.
2. More children progress through elementary school on grade level for reading, math, and science.
3. More youth transition successfully from 8th grade to 9th grade.
4. More young people graduate from high school with an identified path forward to college or career goals .
5. High School graduates demonstrate increased economic mobility.

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