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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded a $8.7 million grant to Arizona State University and the Be A Leader Foundation to build a K-12 pipeline to increase Arizona students' access to higher education.
The funding will be used to launch the Arizona Network for School Improvement, which will leverage school district partnerships to improve educational outcomes and increase college enrollment among three school districts' most vulnerable students.
Phoenix Union High School District, Tolleson Union High School District and Mesa Public Schools will work with ASU, Be A Leader Foundation and with each other to create, track and implement strategies to increase well-matched postsecondary enrollment.
While 53% of Arizona high school graduates enroll in a post-secondary institution in their first semester after high school, that number is significantly lower for underserved students.
