|
The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the
largest philanthropy in
New England that focuses exclusively on
promoting access, quality, and effectiveness of education.
Since it was established in 1998, the Foundation has distributed
nearly $83 million in grants. In January 2008,
the Foundation realigned its strategic priorities in order to focus
on affecting the profound change and improvement necessary in
education.
As a result, the Foundation now provides grants and other support to
education programs and intermediary organizations in the region to
dramatically improve underserved students' academic achievement and
to
investigate and promote high-quality, varied approaches for students
to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary in the 21st
century.
The Foundation also funds research that examines critical education
policy issues and public understanding about education in order to
better inform its efforts to improve education. The Foundation
primarily provides funding through five strategic initiatives:
Early
Learning,
Time for Learning,
Pathways to
Higher Education,
Adult
Learning,
and
Systems
Building. The Foundation
also fosters strategic partnerships, nurtures a culture of
continuous learning, takes necessary bold risks, and continues to
enhance its evidence-based approach to funding.
Beliefs
The Foundation’s grantmaking and strategic outlook are rooted, in
part, in a set of larger beliefs that provide guidance and context
for the Foundation’s work.
The Foundation’s beliefs:
-
Greater equity is a vital factor to the positive development of
our society. Greater equity promotes economic, civic, and
cultural health from which society benefits.
-
There are various issues that contribute to current social and
economic inequities, including but not limited to the many
issues surrounding race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.
While high quality educational opportunities can contribute to a
broader success in life, they are not the only critical
contributing factors.
-
Strong skills and knowledge – currently identified as those
commensurate with at least two years of postsecondary education
– are critical in order to be adequately prepared for life in
the 21st century. Promoting these skills in
developmentally appropriate ways is essential.
-
While ‘achievement gaps’ – the gaps between the educational
outcomes of different populations – remain dangerously wide, the
current gap between what skills all students need to possess and
what skills they are learning is dangerously wide as well.
This is especially true
for those learners who have been traditionally underserved
(including students from lower socio-economic status, low-income
students of color, and rural students).
-
While much has been learned and some substantial gains have been
made thanks to the good work of educators, policymakers,
philanthropies, and the for-profit sector over the years, many
of the efforts to improve schooling and related educational
outcomes have been insufficient in providing enough students
with the skills and knowledge they need.
-
The Foundation believes that extraordinary outcomes for the
majority of New England’s learners – especially those currently
underserved – are necessary in order to have a flourishing
society, and that these ambitious outcomes are entirely
possible.
|
