I'm excited to share the news that TNTP has received an unsolicited $20 million donation from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott to help us deepen our work on behalf of Black and brown students.
This is the largest single donation we’ve ever received—and it’s a vote of confidence not only in our 25 years of leading transformation in K-12 education, but in the work our staff does in schools across the country every day.
That work has never been more critical. I’m proud that TNTP has worked side-by-side with so many dedicated teachers, school leaders, and district staff during an unimaginably difficult two years: recruiting and training new teachers and school leaders, equipping educators with research-backed instructional skills, and accelerating students’ access to grade-level work. Last year alone, we partnered with more than 300 school systems reaching almost 13 million students.
And now is the time to do even more. The disruption of the past two years exposed and widened decades-old inequities facing so many Black, Latinx, and low-income students, whose school experiences even before COVID often delivered them right back into poverty as adults. That means all of us who care about public education have an opportunity—and an obligation—to think boldly and finally build sustainable pathways to economic and social mobility for all students.
I’m grateful to Ms. Scott for her boldness and generosity, and for adding to the ranks of diverse foundations and individuals who’ve supported us over the years. They’ve positioned us to shift the very trajectory of the lives of even more students, particularly students from poverty. We’ll continue to rely on their support, and yours, in the years ahead.
