The Milwaukee charter school network
Carmen Schools of Science and Technology announced Monday that it has received a one-time, $3.5 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.
“We are beyond thankful for Ms. Scott’s generosity and support for our work at Carmen. This gift recognizes the impact all our teachers and staff have had on the lives of thousands of students and families over the past 15 years,” said Jennifer Lopez, chief executive officer at Carmen Schools of Science and Technology, in a media release. “We know this gift will have a profound impact on the future of our schools and on the educational opportunities we create for our students.”
With five schools in Milwaukee serving grades K4-12, the donation comes as Carmen celebrates its 15
th anniversary. The funds from Scott’s gift will be used to support the following three areas: student academic support and enrichment, staff retention and facility improvements.
“This important gift is critical to address systemic inequities in education funding in Wisconsin,” Lopez said. “Students at charter schools like Carmen receive only 63 cents for every dollar that a student at a traditional district school receives. Carmen is excited to use these funds to continue providing the highest quality, college prep education to our students.”
Recently, Scott
donated $3 million to the Hmong American Peace Academy, another Milwaukee-based school.
Scott, the ex-wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, has donated nearly $2 billion to 343 organizations over the last seven months,
she announced on Medium Nov. 14.
