The Challenge

Across our country, students from under-resourced communities face inequities in access to Pre-K, technology, cultural enrichment, the arts, and more – resulting in gaps in vocabulary, academic and Social Emotional skills, creativity, and health that have a profound impact on student achievement, engagement, and individual life success.

• In Albuquerque, nearly two-thirds of Albuquerque Public School students qualify for free or reduced lunch
• The four-year high school graduation rate of students attending Albuquerque Public Schools is 70%
• The academic achievement gap on average is 6 months in Kindergarten, and widens to 3 years by 5th grade
• 2-3 months are typically lost in reading and math over the summer, and this loss becomes cumulative
• A 6th grade student who misses more than 20% of class, whose teacher reports poor behavior, or who fails math or English has a 70% likelihood of dropping out
• Under-resourced students are 6 times more likely to drop out of high school and less likely to enroll in college
• Young adults with a college degree earn more than twice as much as those without a high school credential