WASHINGTON, D.C.—National Alliance for Public Charter Schools (National Alliance) President and CEO Nina Rees has issued the following statement upon the retirement of Eli Broad, founder of The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation and lifelong advocate for ensuring all students have access to a high-quality public education:
“Alongside his wife, Edythe, Mr. Broad has worked tirelessly to support high-quality public schools, both district and charter, so that where a child is born does not determine their destiny.
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with—and learning from—Mr. Broad to give more students access to high-quality public charter schools. Thanks to The Broad Prize for Public Charter Schools, $1.5M has been awarded to six game-changing charter school networks that have demonstrated the best academic outcomes, particularly for low-income students and students of color. Funding from The Broad Prize goes toward the schools’ college-readiness efforts, helping to ensure that students are prepared for successful next steps in school and life.
“The National Alliance looks forward to continuing our work with The Broad Foundation and we wish Mr. Broad well as he spends more time with his family.”
About Public Charter Schools
Public charter schools are independent, public, and tuition-free schools that are given the freedom to be more innovative while being held accountable for advancing student achievement. Since 2010, many research studies have found that students in charter schools do better in school than their traditional school peers. For example, one study by the Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University found that charter schools do a better job teaching low income students, minority students, and students who are still learning English than traditional schools. Separate studies by the Center on Reinventing Public Education and Mathematica Policy Research have found that charter school students are more likely to graduate from high school, go on to college, stay in college and have higher earnings in early adulthood.
About the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools
The National Alliance for Public Charter Schools is the leading national nonprofit organization committed to advancing the public charter school movement. Our mission is to lead public education to unprecedented levels of academic achievement by fostering a strong charter sector. For more information, please visit www.publiccharters.org.
