AppleTree Institute Wins $5 Million I3 Award for Every Child Ready Model

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation ("AppleTree"), a Washington, DC-based non-profit with success in closing the achievement gap, was awarded a $5 million federal Investing in Innovation ("I3") grant by US Education Secretary Arne Duncan today for its Every Child Ready project.

AppleTree, one of 49 highly rated I3 applicants out of 1,698 from across the nation, was the top ranked applicant focused on early childhood education. Every Child Ready is the only DC-based project, serving children in the nation's capital, to be selected for an I3 award.

"We appreciate the confidence that Secretary Duncan and our private sector match partners have in Every Child Ready's impact," said Jack McCarthy, AppleTree's founder and Managing Director. "Classrooms implementing our evidence-based preschool intervention are closing the achievement gap before children enter kindergarten. We have a true sense of urgency about bringing this innovation to scale here in the Nation's Capital where the need is great and where quality preschool is a priority of the incoming Mayor," he added.

To qualify for the grant, AppleTree raised a $1,437,832 private sector match from leading education funders including:   W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Fight for Children, Inc., Education Collaboration Fund, a donor advised fund at J.P. Morgan Bank, Boeing Corporation, PNC Bank, Edison Electric Institute, the Norman and Diane Bernstein Foundation, CityBridge Foundation, the Eugene and Agnes Meyer Foundation, the Klingenstein Family Foundation, and the Foundation for the National Capital Region.

The purpose of I3 funding is "to provide competitive grants to applicants with a record of improving student achievement in order to expand implementation of, and investment in practices that have an impact on improving student achievement and closing achievement gaps," according to the USDOE.

The I3 grant supports AppleTree's work to refine, codify and document the Every Child Ready model, implement it in different surroundings under different conditions and conduct a longitudinal study across diverse preschool sites. AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School, DC Preparatory Public Charter School and Early Childhood Academy Public Charter School are partner schools in the project, along with the DC Office of the State Superintendent for education, Georgetown University Center on Health and Education, Hartman Business Technology and Friends of Choice in Urban Schools.

Specific outcomes of the project will include: (1) unique products that support implementation of the Every Child Ready evidence-based instructional approach, (2) advanced e-tools that support scalable distribution of professional development, assessment and intervention practices and (3) ongoing research to validate Every Child Ready to support adoption by a broader base of early childhood educators.

About APPLETREE INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATION INNOVATION

AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation ("AppleTree")  located in Washington, DC  is executing a pioneering effort that aligns entrepreneurial innovation in early childhood education, a prototype model with statistically significant outcomes, ongoing rigorous evaluation and public and private capital to close the achievement gap before children enter kindergarten.

ATI's mission is to drive transformative innovation in early childhood education practice through developing, testing and disseminating a new, evidence-based, high-quality instructional approach that prepares even the most disadvantaged children for success in school, work and life.

Our core beliefs are that:

• Quality public education is a civil right and the surest path to academic and life success.
• Children who begin kindergarten lacking basic language, literacy and behavioral skills are far more likely to experience academic failure and be denied their right to a high-quality education.
• A quality preschool education provided by well-trained teachers implementing a research-based instructional program is the best way to ensure equitable access to meaningful education and to put at-risk children on the path to success.
• Children who are most at-risk for school failure benefit the most from high-quality early learning experiences, yet they are the least likely to have access to programs providing these experiences.

AppleTree Early Learning Public Charter School educates 320 children ages 3-4 at four DC sites. Our web site is: www.appletreeinstitute.org.

SOURCE AppleTree Institute for Education Innovation