Urban Education

Education-related grants comprise two-thirds of our giving. We are committed to improving student performance and increasing access to urban education so that children and adolescents around the globe have improved opportunities for life-long success.

Urban Education in the US

The United States educational system is plagued by a persistent achievement gap among students from different economic circumstances, and racial and ethnic backgrounds. To close this gap, improve student performance and increase graduation rates among affected students, fund programs that focus on:

• Performance-driven education
• College preparation and completion, including  the Dell Scholars Program
• Human capital (educator and school leader training)
• Quality school options
• Academic and after-school programs

Urban Education in India

From early childhood through adolescence, impoverished school children in India face multiple educational hurdles including poor attendance, high drop-out rates and radically uneven school quality. To help these children achieve the educations and skills that will enable them to break out of poverty, we fund large-scale interventions that provide:

• In-school and after-school academic support
• Integrated school excellence programs focused on improved teaching processes, leadership and teacher capabilities, and more sustainable school operations)
• Employable skills development and training

Urban Education in South Africa

In South Africa, barely one in ten students qualifies for university and only five percent graduate. Our goal is to ensure that young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are admitted to university, that they graduate and that they obtain long-term employment. Our initial investments are in the Dell Young Leaders scholarship program, which provides holistic support to vulnerable South African university students to help them through graduation and beyond.