As Californians gear up for elections that have the potential to shape the lives of young people in fundamental ways, a consortium of mostly California foundations have set up a fund to elevate the role of public schools in promoting civic leadership and democratic participation.
It is a key part of what the nearly dozen foundations who are participating in the project are calling the California Thriving Youth Initiative, a multiyear effort “to support the learning, leadership, and well-being of adolescents in California.”
The goal is to “create the conditions for young people, especially students of color, to practice civic engagement and democracy inside and outside public school,” said Kathryn Bradley, director of the Purpose of Education Fund at the Stuart Foundation.
The foundation initiated the effort with a seed investment of $30 million, which will be administered by the Los Angeles-based…
