Billionaire Citadel boss Ken Griffin is donating $25 million that can help fund a planned expansion of the Success Academy’s charter-school network in Latest York City.
The $25 million gift – the newest in a series of education-focused donations by Griffin – will aid Success Academy’s goal of accelerating its enrollment to 30,000 inside the following five years, the operator said on Tuesday. That might make a 50% increase from its current capability of 20,000 students.
“I’m thrilled to support Success Academy’s work to expand access to high-quality education for hundreds of scholars across Latest York City,” Griffin said in an announcement. “I passionately consider that a great education is the on-ramp to the American Dream.”
The Success Academy is Latest York City’s largest charter-school network – operating a complete of 49 elementary, middle and high schools. Of its current 20,000 students, 95% are children of color who were admitted to this system through a lottery system, in accordance with a release.
Griffin, 54, is certainly one of the world’s richest individuals, with a private net value of $35 billion, in accordance with the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Earlier this month, Griffin contributed a whopping $300 million to his alma mater Harvard University and $20 million to Miami Dade College in Florida.
Ken Griffin donated $25 million to assist fund an expansion.TNS
“We’re profoundly grateful for this generous support, and for Ken Griffin’s belief that each child deserves access to great education,” Success Academy CEO and founder Eva Moskowitz said in an announcement.
“So many poor children are overlooked of the American Dream because they’re assigned to a failing school. We share Ken’s vision of the longer term for our nation, where every child, no matter their circumstances, has access to an excellent school.”
Griffin moved Citadel’s headquarters to Miami from Chicago last yr. The investment firm also plans to construct a “recent 1.7 million square-foot trophy office tower” in Midtown that might replace adjoining buildings at 350 Park Avenue, 40 East 52nd Street and 39 East 51st Street, as The Post previously reported.
Success Academy is NYC’s largest charter school network.Stephen Yang
Griffin previously donated $10 million to Success Academy in 2014 – money that was used to open three recent public middle schools.
Success Academy says 100% of its highschool seniors have been accepted to four-year colleges and universities for this sixth straight yr.
As The Post has reported, Success Academy and other charter schools have faced pushback from local critics, including the United Federation of Teachers, which has sought to dam the opening of recent locations.
