University of Phoenix has pledged to grant $500,000 over three years to the Center for the Future of Arizona’s Beat the Odds School Partners program.

The contribution is the lead gift in funding the implementation of a new Beat the Odds education initiative at 27 metropolitan Phoenix area K-12 public schools. Contributions will total $100,000 in the first year; $150,000 in year two; and $250,000 in year three and will include grants from the university’s new foundation.

The collaborative, school-based initiative is an outgrowth of a nationally acclaimed joint study of the Center for the Future of Arizona and the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University, entitled “Why Some Schools with Latino Children Beat the Odds … and Others Don’t.” Jim Collins, author of the New York Times bestseller “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t,” actively collaborated in theresearch.

The “Beat the Odds” research study provided six keys to success within schools’ control that, when implemented together, lead to better than expected student achievement among all students. Approximately half of all Arizona Latino students do not graduate high school. Latino students are rapidly becoming the majority student population in Arizona K-12 schools.

The grant from University of Phoenix and its foundation will partially defray the costs of preliminary and follow-up school evaluations, one-on-one professional mentoring of school principals, training, resource development, peer mentoring, the development and implementation of individual school action plans, and tracking of the 27 schools’ student achievement. The Center for the Future of Arizona will certify schools that meet their goals to be “Beat the Odds schools.”

About University of Phoenix
University of Phoenix is constantly innovating to help students balance education and life in a rapidly changing world. Through flexible schedules, challenging courses and interactive learning, students achieve personal and career aspirations without putting their lives on hold. As of August 31, 2007, 313,700 students were enrolled at University of Phoenix, the largest private university in North America. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs from more than 196 campuses and learning centers in the U.S. as well as online throughout the world.

About University of Phoenix Foundation
Inspired by 30 years of witnessing the life-changing power of education, Dr. John Sperling, chairman of the Apollo Group, Inc. and University of Phoenix, established the University of Phoenix Foundation. The foundation’s mission is to increase access to education, especially for underrepresented and low-income students traditionally under-served by the education continuum, in an effort to provide a pathway for economic advancement.

About the Center for the Future of Arizona
The Center for the Future of Arizona (www.arizonafuture.org) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. It was founded in 2002 by Arizona State University President Emeritus Dr. Lattie Coor and public policy expert Dr. Sybil Francis, who are the center’s chairman/CEO and executive director, respectively. The center’s activities include research, community collaboration, center initiatives, and defining and shaping public policy. For more information about Beat the Odds visit www.beattheoddsinstitute.com.