Lilo and Gerard Leeds, two philanthropists who fled Nazi Germany, felt like they had great school options for their kids.
But they also noticed that students from underrepresented backgrounds often didn’t. In 1990, they founded the Institute for Student Achievement (ISA), a nonprofit that partners with underperforming K-12 schools to close achievement gaps. Over the last three decades, what started as an after-school program has blossomed into an organization for school design and reform and has been lauded for its impact.
ISA has now served schools in seven states, including 5,000 educators and 100,000 students, under the auspices of the Educational Testing Service (ETS). And it’s seen impressive results, according to three evaluation studies.
A 2014 report showed Black male students at ISA schools had better attendance, lower dropout rates and higher graduation rates than peers at other schools. Overall, 90% of students in ISA schools persisted to the third semester in college, and after four years of college, 81% graduated or stayed enrolled.
The U.S. Department of Education also recognized the organization’s success. Its What Works Clearinghouse approved ISA’s methods as an official evidence-based Whole School Reform model, which means schools can use School Improvement Grants (SIG) to work with them.
“We wanted our model to be different from what we’ve seen people doing with schools,” said ISA President Dr. Stephanie Wood-Garnett. “We wanted it to be based in research … We wanted high schools to better prepare kids to graduate from college. Not just go for a year or two. Graduate.”
ISA’s model came out of a unique partnership with the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST) at Columbia University’s Teachers College, a continued partner.
