Having more money to spend is no guarantee of better student outcomes. Even so, how the funding formula and charter financing issues are resolved in Pennsylvania will go a long way toward determining how the School District of Philadelphia, which has been in near-constant crisis in recent years, fares in the years ahead.

CSFP supporter UGI Utilities, Inc., PA State Senator Anthony Williams, and PA State Representative Jordan Harris joined CSFP at several of our great partner schools on January 5. During the tours, visitors met students currently enrolled in CSFP’s scholarship program and experienced the small, caring communities at St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Gabriel, and the Philadelphia…

On January 13, representatives from Children Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP)’s network of over 185 quality area schools gathered for CSFP’s 10th annual Principals’ Meeting. At the meeting, Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia staff discussed the K-8th grade scholarship program guidelines and school evaluation processes with school representatives in attendance. The event also provided an opportunity for…

A new study conducted by Matthew M. Chingos of the Brookings Institution and Paul E. Peterson of the Harvard Kennedy School finds that minority students who received a school voucher to attend private elementary schools in 1997 were, as of 2013, 10 percent more likely to enroll in college and 35 percent more likely than their peers in public school to obtain a bachelor’s degree.

For poor and minority students in Philadelphia, there really are two kinds of schools: those that work and those that don’t. Students who end up in the effective schools achieve significantly better outcomes. This variation in outcomes is not dependent on school type, student income levels, or other out-of-school factors. By expanding the “system” of effective schools, we can give more students access to a higher quality education.

On October 25, CSFP and Urban Outfitters, Inc. hosted the “Sowing the Seeds of Future Success” Benefit Party focusing on educational innovation in the Philadelphia area. A crowd of over 300 CSFP donors, supporters, and friends attended the Benefit dinner and main program, and over 200 young professionals joined the Young Friends of CSFP for…

On October 30, CSFP announced the availability of 2,000 new four-year scholarships at URBN, Inc.’s headquarters at the Navy Yard. Hundreds of students, school representatives, and families joined CSFP to celebrate the start of the new application season, during which time low-income Philadelphia families with children in K-8th grades can enter the CSFP random lottery…