DALLAS, TEXAS – November 17, 2020– Mark Cuban, entrepreneur, investor, and media proprietor has donated $1 million to help launch a new pre-K program at KIPP Texas-Dallas-Fort Worth. The gift will make a significant and long-term impact on school readiness, academic achievement, and high school graduation rates. The Hamon Charitable Foundation, a private Dallas-based foundation, is also investing in the organization’s critical work and made a $1 million contribution to KIPP’s Rise Together Campaign to grow more schools and create more educational options in Dallas-Fort Worth.
“Dallas only grows economically when our youngest achieve educationally. I’m excited to support KIPP Texas-DFW,” said Mark Cuban.
With support from Mark Cuban and the Hamon Charitable Foundation, KIPP Texas-DFW will continue their mission of providing high quality education to underserved families in southern Dallas, an area of Dallas that has been both educationally and economically overlooked for generations. Less than half of low-income children have access to high-quality early childhood programs that could dramatically improve their opportunities for a better future.
“We support KIPP to enhance educational opportunities in southern Dallas and provide an environment favorable for future success in secondary education,” said Kelly Roach, Hamon Charitable Foundation President.
KIPP Texas-DFW has seven tuition-free schools educating more than 3,000 students from educationally underserved communities. “We operate our schools in Dallas’ most high needs neighborhoods, so we are appreciative to Mark Cuban and the Hamon Charitable Foundation for helping us change the narrative in our southern Dallas communities,” said Dr. Anthony Smith, KIPP Texas-Dallas-Fort Worth regional superintendent.
“We are incredibly grateful to Mark for helping us establish our pre-K program in southern Dallas, because we know how vital it is for the long-term success of our students,” said Smith. “Research shows that students who attend KIPP Texas’ early education programs have dramatically improved outcomes in kindergarten and continue to excel in life beyond the classroom, contrary to students who do not have access to early childhood education.”
ABOUT KIPP TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
KIPP Texas Public Schools is an open-enrollment, public network of 59 charter schools across the state. KIPP Texas educates nearly 30,000 pre-K through 12 students with plans to grow to 100,000 students across Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, and San Antonio. KIPP Texas students graduate college at a rate three times higher than the national average for low-income students.
KIPP Texas is part of the national KIPP network of college-preparatory public charter schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia. Nationwide, KIPP students complete four-year college at a rate of 36 percent, comparable to the national average for all students and approximately three times higher than the average of students from low-income families. www.kipptexas.org
