Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children Awards $1,511,000 Million in Grants
Funding will support 19 organizations that are working to improve the lives and education of Minnesota students.
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children today announced $1,511,000 in grants to 19 schools, advocacy groups, and nonprofits that are working to improve the lives and education of Minnesota students.
“All of our children deserve the opportunity for a quality education, regardless of their race or family income,” said Mike Ciresi, the Foundation's board chairman. "We must all work together—individuals, schools, churches, foundations, corporations, and government—to close Minnesota's unacceptable gaps in educational opportunity."
The 19 grants announced today mark the culmination of a year in which the Foundation supported a successful billboard campaign that highlighted Minnesota's education disparities. Each award advances one or more of the funding priorities the Foundation adopted in 2019:
Eliminate the misconception that Minnesota has great schools for all children and raise awareness of our status as the worst state in the nation for educating students of color.
Expand the number and capacity of high-performing schools serving students of color.
Support parent and family engagement in schools and their demands for high-performing schools for all students.
Support college students of color with scholarships that include financial aid as well as mentoring and leadership programs.
Promote efforts to diversity Minnesota’s educator workforce and equip teachers with the cultural intelligence and skills needed to support and educate all students.
Promote efforts to make Minnesota a state where all children and youth can achieve their full potential.
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children will support the following organizations during 2020:
The Amherst Wilder Foundation / St. Paul Promise Neighborhood: $80,000
Ascension Catholic School: $100,000
Breakthrough Twin Cities: $40,000
Children’s Theatre: $50,000
Close Gaps By 5: $75,000
Cristo Rey Jesuit High School: $75,000
Ed Allies: $125,000
Global Academy: $40,000
Hope Academy: $60,000
Joyce Preschool: $25,000
MN Private College Fund: $221,000
Northside Achievement Zone: $100,000
Reach Out and Read MN: $50,000
Risen Christ Catholic School: $50,000
Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation: $50,000
Summit Academy OIC: $100,000
The New Teacher Project: $70,000
Think Small: $75,000
Way to Grow: $125,000
The New Teacher Project (TNTP) launched Teach Minnesota, an alternative teacher preparation program that will recruit, select, train, and license diverse teachers to work in high-needs schools. Teach Minnesota is one of the first teacher training programs approved to operate independently of the state’s university-based colleges of education. TNTP expects to prepare 100 prospective teachers in its first two to three years. TNTP’s program is typically a shorter and less expensive pathway to becoming a licensed teacher than university-based programs. Also, more than half of the educators TNTP credentials nationwide are people of color or Native Americans. In comparison, fewer than five percent of Minnesota’s 63,000 licensed teachers identify as people of color or Native Americans. A 2017 American Institutes for Research study found that TNTP’s teaching fellows performed as well as traditionally trained teachers during their first year as licensed teachers managing classrooms.
“Growing research shows that when students of color have teachers of color, they perform better academically,” said Garima Bhatt Handley, a partner at TNTP. “This grant will ultimately allow us to place more diverse teachers in Minnesota schools, giving students a great chance at success.”
The Foundation also continued its long-standing commitment to high-quality early learning by again supporting Close Gaps by 5, which promotes targeted early learning programs to close and prevent achievement gaps. Close Gaps by 5 expects to continue working on expanding access and funding for the state's early learning scholarships. Close Gaps By 5 is also developing a communications campaign focused on dismantling the mistaken belief that Minnesota has an excellent education system for all children.
"This grant will strengthen our voice in advocating for the voiceless 35,000 low-income Minnesota children who can't access the quality early learning programs they need to succeed in school and life," said Ericca Maas, Executive Director of Close Gaps by 5. "It will allow us to continue shining a bright light on Minnesota's shameful achievement gaps, which so many leaders are currently denying or shrugging off, and which pose such an urgent threat to Minnesota's communities, economy, taxpayers, and most vulnerable children."
In another grant, the Minnesota Private College Fund received support to continue offering scholarships and leadership development for African American men enrolled at Augsburg College and the University of St. Thomas. The Ciresi Walburn scholarships provide work experiences, financial support, and mentoring to ensure the selected men graduate ready to launch their careers.
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children was established in 1998 with a $30 million commitment from the law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP. That initial gift was a result of fees earned from the settlement of the Minnesota tobacco lawsuit. Since then, the Foundation has made more than $26 million in grants, including those announced today. The majority have gone to education-related causes and public health and social justice