Africa's Girl Power

The ecosystem of D.C. charter schools that has evolved over the last two decades represents a cornucopia of creative and nontraditional approaches to education, in addition to fairly traditional college-prep schools, and is now producing some of the highest graduation rates, college acceptance rates, and average test scores in public schools in the nation.

Jill Harkins writes, "As the research shows, it’s not enough to get students into college. We need to also get them through college, and into jobs." The Posse Foundation recruits driven and accomplished low-income students to attend partner colleges in 10-person cohorts, a model that the Foundation believes offers a built-in support system that may prevent students from dropping out when facing the stressors of a new and challenging environment. And that is just the beginning - the Foundation continues to provide students with support and career advice through and after graduation.

Magnet schools in Alabama were created by the Board of Education as a way to combat white flight in the 1970's. Today, especially in Montgomery, magnet schools boast the smallest achievement gap between white and black students. Their success is attributed to a number of things, including a standardized admissions lottery that ensures diversity and a high degree of interest and participation from parents.

A progressive funding model has been a boon to schools in Berlin’s poorer neighborhoods, which receive a baseline of staff and resources. But schools in poorer neighborhoods face a myriad of struggles that additional resources haven’t been able to quell, due to the deep socioeconomic disparities between the home neighborhoods of wealthy and poor students. However, one elementary school seems to have succeeded in desegregating students by offering a choice of academic tracks.

The Catholic Education Foundation in Kansas City has provided nearly $600,000 in scholarships to approximately 300 low-income students to give them the choice to choose where they want to go to school. Because it is funded by businesses through tax-deductible contributions, it is a contentious issue by involving public money. The program has found over time that although the difference in test scores between private and public schools is modest, the real benefit of the program is helping families make informed choices about their education without access being an issue.

In Zimbabwe, a diverse group of leaders are tackling the persistent barriers to quality education for girls. By providing menstrual products, distributing bikes for transportation, and changing the perception of female education in the community, a combination of grassroots and big-picture efforts are gradually bringing some of the 63 million girls out of school into the classroom.

The SHARE program, a food recovery initiative created by Toward Zero Waste and Wake County Public Schools, redirects unopened cafeteria items onto accessible carts and fridges for any student to take throughout the school day. SHARE has grown from 8 to 37 schools since the spring of 2025 and recovers roughly 41 food items per school per day, reducing landfill waste and de-stigmatizing food support.

Teach Minnesota is a six-week alternative licensure program that provides hands-on classroom experience and intensive training in topics such as literacy and culturally-responsive education, allowing future teachers to earn their license more quickly and at a lower cost than in traditional degree programs. The New Teachers Project, which facilitates Teach Minnesota, has trained 37,000 teachers in 25 states and Washington, D.C.

The i-Scholar Initiative is one of a growing number of individual and organizational efforts to support Nigerian students looking to study abroad. The initiative helps fund the cost of international graduate examinations, provides scholarships to fund their education, and connects students to peer mentors who can guide them through the application and admission process.

Yonkers Partners in Education is a nonprofit making college more accessible for low-income students of color through mentorship and tutoring.