The Community Foundation’s long-term goal is to dramatically increase the opportunities for low-income children, youth and adults to contribute to and benefit from our region’s prosperity.

Background

Our first key strategy toward this goal is to focus squarely on young people and their academic achievement — helping them succeed in school and ensuring they achieve their fullest potential. Focusing on the promise of our youth, The Foundation strives to improve the achievement of middle school students in our region. By investing in academic, social, and career development programs, we will prepare middle school youth to excel in high school, and also build a solid academic foundation from which youth can pursue career or post-secondary education opportunities that lead to meaningful employment in a competitive global economy.

The Problem

Despite the fact that the Greater Washington region is home to some of the best public schools in the United States, the academic performance of African American and Latino students continues to lag behind the performance of their peers. National studies have revealed that the middle school years is a period of time in which the performance of low-income African American and Latino students declines steeply. This decline is of particular importance given that studies also indicate that performance in middle school is a strong predictor of high school success. Recent data focused on the four-year period spanning the 5th to 8th grades(inclusive) extracted from our region’s two largest public school systems in Maryland and Virginia and the DC Public Schools mirror this decline:

• In Fairfax County, the percentage of African American students who obtain a “passing” score in Standards of Learning reading assessment falls from 69% to 50%.
• In Montgomery County, the percentage of Latino students who obtain a “proficient” or “advanced” score on Maryland State Mathematics Assessments drops from 63% to 41%.
• In the District of Columbia, the percentage of students that meet or exceed standardized test expectations falls from 62% to 39% in math, and from 78% to 68% in reading.

We believe that supporting the social and academic achievement of middle school youth is critical to their success in high school and their pursuit of post-secondary education or career opportunities.

Funding Opportunities

Learn about current and upcoming grant cycles. >MORE

2006-07 Spirit of Giving Guide

This edition focuses on effective nonprofits working withmiddle school students,educators and parents to strengthen academic achievement in our youth. Download the guide here.>MORE

More Resources

Consult this list of other organizations working to improve middle school education for our youth. >MORE